Sunda teal [SEP] parent taxon
Sunda teal
The Sunda teal ("Anas gibberifrons"), also known as the Bebek cokelat, is a dabbling duck found in open wetlands in Indonesia. The species formerly included the Andaman teal "Anas albogularis" and the grey teal, "Anas gracilis" as subspecies, but is currently considered monotypic.
A molecular phylogentic study published in 2009 that compared mitochondrial DNA sequences from ducks, geese and swans in the family Anatidae found that the Sunda teal is a sister species to the chestnut teal ("Anas castanea
") that is found in Australia.
This is a mottled brown duck with white and green flashes on its wings. The male and female Sunda teal share the same colouration, in contrast to the related chestnut teal, whose male and female are strikingly different. The nominate Sunda teal has almost identical colouration to the female chestnut teal and can only be distinguished by its lighter coloured neck, paler face and especially the bulging forehead. The Andaman teal has a variable amount of white on the forehead and around the eyes.