Falcated Duck

On a safari in the Eastern Range of Kaziranga NP we drove along some lakes with lots of ducks. Some of them were at quite a distance with groups of like-kind ducks intermixed occasionally with loners from other breeds. My guide, Boblu, with binoculars in hand, was spouting off familiar and unfamiliar names of ducks that all looked the same to me with my naked eye, and not much more distinguishable with my 400 mm lens. I found myself taking photos in the directions he was pointing and hoping that when I was able to crop my photos I could distinguish the differences. One of these unfamiliar names was the falcated duck, a name I wrote down on a list I kept from this morning with Boblu. I looked up the falcated duck on Wikipedia and then went through my photos scanning pockets of birds scattered along a large area of lake looking for one. I eventually found it, a beautiful bird that I would love to get a closer look of. 

My photos on iNaturalist are the only ones that I can see of falcated ducks identified in that area of Kaziranga NP. 

It breeds in northern eastern Asia, including Russia and Japan, and winters in parts of southern and southeast Asia, including northern India, where I saw it. 

Range of falcated duck from iNaturalist.

The male has a dark green head with a white throat, a bronze crown and a dark green collar. It has a silver-gray body with black crescents on the breast and belly and vermiculated flanks. It is closely related to the gadwalls and wigeons. 

Illustration of male falcated duck from Birds of the World.  Same below, but flying. 

Female illustration from Birds of the World.