Philippine duck
The Philippine duck ("Anas luzonica") is a large dabbling duck of the genus "Anas". Its native name is papan. It is endemic to the Philippines. As few as 5,000 may remain. Overhunting and habitat loss have contributed to its decline. It eats shrimp, fish, insects, and vegetation, and it frequents all types of wetlands. Taxonomy. The Philippine duck is a dabbling duck and a member of the genus "Anas". It has no subspecies and so it is monotypic. It belongs to the Pacific clade of "Anas" along with the koloa, the Laysan duck, the Pacific black duck, and  the extinct Mariana mallard. The scientific name comes from the Latin "Anas," 'duck' and the Philippine island Luzon. It is known in the Philippines as "papan". Description. The Philippine duck is a large conspicuous duck. It has a black crown, nape and eye stripe, with a cinnamon head and neck. The rest of its body is greyish brown with a bright green speculum. Its legs are greyish brown, and its bill is bluish-grey. The female is somewhat smaller than the male, but is otherwise the same. Distribution and habitat. The Philippine duck is known to inhabit all of the  major Philippine islands and 8 minor islands, but since the 1980s most sightings have been on Luzon and Mindanao. Long-distance vagrants have been sighted in Okinawa and Taiwan. It is found in all types of wetlands within its range, but its preferred habitat is shallow freshwater marshland. Conservation status. The Philippine duck is rated vulnerable on the IUCN Red List with the population estimated to be 3,300 - 6,700 mature individuals remaining. The species has experienced steep population decreases since the 1970s mainly due to hunting and habitat loss. The ducks have been heavily hunted since the 1960s with thousands  being hunted a year through the late 1980s. Habitat loss is mainly due to wetland drainage, aquaculture, mangrove destruction and fishpond creation. The species occurs in multiple protected areas including Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape, Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park, Naujan Lake National Park, Bataan National Park, Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park and Olango Island, a Ramsar wetland. However, as is with most of the Philippines enforcement from hunting is lax.