Madagascar Pochard

Based on the accounts written by Webb and Delacour's in the 1920s and 1930s it seemed that the bird was still relatively common at Lake Alaotra .

The Madagascar Pochard is classified as Critically Endangered (CR), facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

The Madagascar Pochard (Aythya innotata) is an extremely rare diving duck of the genus Aythya, previously thought extinct. Prior to a rediscovery in 2006, the last confirmed sighting of the species was at Lake Alaotra on the Central Plateau of Madagascar in 1991. The single male then encountered was captured and kept in the Antananarivo Botanical Gardens until its death one year later. More

Madagascar Pochard, copyright BirdLife InternationalIn 2006 the Madagascar Pochard Aythya innotata - one of the world’s rarest birds - was listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct). Historically confined to the Lake Alaotra basin in Madagascar’s northern central plateau the species had been formerly considered relatively common, but it declined dramatically through the 1940s and 1950s. More

The Madagascar Pochard is a medium-sized diving duck of 45-56 cm. The male is dark chestnut-rufous coloured, except for his white eye, white undertail-coverts, and a conspicuous white wing-bar along the bases of his flight feathers. The female is duller brownish and lacks the white eye. The bill of this species is dull brown with a paler, bluish subterminal band. More

Madagascar pochard The Madagascar pochard (Aythya innotata) is one of the rarest birds in the world (pochards are a group of diving ducks). In fact, it was believed to be extinct at one time. However, by chance, an isolated but tiny population was discovered several years before when “the Peregrine Fund, who were scouting for a threatened bird of prey, the Madagascar Harrier, observed 20 adult pochards living on a single lake in northern Madagascar. More

juvenile Madagascar pochard resembles the female, but is paler brown and lacks a chestnut tone (2) (3) (7). - As its common name suggests, the Madagascar pochard is endemic to Madagascar, where it was historically known only from a single location, at Lake Alaotra in the northern central plateau (2) (3) (5) (7) (8) (9). More

rediscovery of the Madagascar pochard in 2006 occurred at a small volcanic lake 330 kilometres to the north of Lake Alaotra (4) (7) (8). The birds breeding at this site may also visit other nearby lakes (7) (8). View a distribution map for this species at UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. More

The Madagascar pochard returns This post would have been up a long time ago if I hadn’t had to spent the last week grubbing around for money, and on that subject… the more observant among you might have noticed a paypal donate button just beneath my biography. More

Madagascar Pochard - The world’s rarest ducklings hatched in captive breeding programme = 04/11/2009 17:40:00birds/nov_2009/Pochard_ducklings_Lewis-Durrell_c 8 of the world's rarest ducklings - The Madagascar Pochard. Credit R Lewis/Durrell First step to save the world's rarest bird taken successfully! November 2009. A complicated and challenging mission to a remote lake in Madagascar has resulted in a huge step being taken in efforts to save the world's rarest duck from extinction. More

The Madagascar Pochard is one of the country’s rarest and most endangered birds. The last confirmed sighting of the species was in 1991 at Lake Alaotra on the Central Plateau of Madagascar. The single male was captured and kept in Antananarivo Zoological and Botanical Gardens until its death one year later. More

the Madagascar Pochard - this time on the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Pochard Team blog. The first line of the WWTPT’s post runs: “A short text from Owen this evening says it all: “100% hatch just complete. Massive grins. More

SPECIAL FEATURES The Madagascar Pochard was formerly found in several European waterfowl collections, however the species became extinct in captivity at some point during the Second World War. REFERENCES Collar, N.J. and Stuart, S.N. 1985. Threatened Birds of Africa and Related Islands. The ICBP/IUCN Red Data Book, Part 1. ICBP (now BirdLife International) and IUCN, Cambridge. Collar, N.J., Crosby, M.J., and Stattersfield, A.J. 1994. Birds to Watch 2. The World List of Threatened Birds. More

Madagascar pochards in captivity! Indeed, we have a quarter of the world population in our care. The first major step to save this species has been taken. Credit Richard Lewis But the next 2-3 weeks remain critical – this is the period when most of the young in the wild have died. And we need to get the two remaining clutches into captivity. More

Saving the Madagascar Pochard, the rarest duck in the world Published by Glyn Young (Glyn.Young AT durrell.org) Madagascar Pochard Madagascar Pochard © Peter Cranswick/WWT The Madagascar Pochard (Aythya innotata) is the most endangered duck on the planet, and was considered extinct until rediscovered in November 2006, by Lily Arison René de Roland of The Peregrine Fund, at an isolated lake site in northern Madagascar. More

The Madagascar pochard is the world's rarest duck. Once probably widespread on the wetlands of Madagascar’s high plateau region, the country’s endemic pochard (Aythya innotata) had become extremely rare by the 1960s and the last sighting was in 1990. The combined impacts of hunting, wetland conversion and introduced fish were thought to have caused this diving duck’s demise. Then, by chance, in 2006, biologists from The Peregrine Fund rediscovered the species in a remote area of northern Madagascar. More

The Madagascar Pochard, a diving duck last sighted in 1991 and feared ‘Possibly Extinct’, has been rediscovered during a survey in remote northern Madagascar. Conservationists from The Peregrine Fund Madagascar Project, discovered nine adults and four recently-hatched young on a remote lake, and have since revisited the site for further observations and data. More

Madagascar pochards are diving birds that probably feed on aquatic plants and invertebrates in shallow water. Males have a distinctive white iris. Unlike previously known populations, which inhabited marshy, densely vegetated lakes, the small colony of pochards located by The Peregrine Fund team was found in a heavily forested volcanic lake. Although this has raised hopes that the species is holding on in other areas as well, intensive surveys have so far not found any further populations. More

Fewer than 20 Madagascar pochard are believed to be living on just one lake in the wild. The critically endangered duck is so rare that it was declared extinct in the late 1990s until scientists found a few of the birds by chance during a trip to Madagascar in 2006. More

Seventeen Madagascar pochard ducklings raised in captivity since Wildfowl and Wetland Trust took emergency action * Digg it * Buzz up * Share on facebook * Tweet this * Press Association * guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 November 2009 09. More

Many believed the Madagascar Pochard had gone the way of the Dodo. More

The Madagascar Pochard, the world's rarest duck, is on the brink of becoming extinct, wildlife experts have warned. - Published: 8:00AM BST 22 Aug 2009 Rare Madagascar ducks 'on brink of excinction'Nigel Jarrett, aviculture manager at WWT, looking for Madagascar Pochards Photo: PA There are thought to be just 19 of the diving ducks left in the world - only six of which are female - living on a small remote lake on the Indean Ocean island. More