Marbled Duck Marmaronetta angustirostris

Also known as Marbled Teal, this species has previously been placed in the dabbling duck suhfamily Anatinae. The current AviList (2025) places it before the pochards which are themselves before the dabbling ducks, but I am not entirely clear whether or not the compilers of AviList consider it to be in the same subfamily or a different one (AviList only covers the major taxonomic ranks so nothing between family and genus). Other sources (Wikipedia!) suggest that Marbled Duck is now treated as part of Aythinae so I'm treating it as such.

Although I have seen wild birds in Turkey and a good contender for a wild vagrant in Norfolk, by far the best photos I have of this species are of birds in captivity.

captive Marbled Ducks, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 15th October 2011

captive Marbled Ducks, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 28th February 2009

captive Marbled Ducks, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 23rd December 2015

captive Marbled Duck, Pensthorpe (Norfolk, UK), 9th March 2014

captive Marbled Duck, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 4th December 2010

captive Marbled Duck, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 20th March 2019

captive Marbled Duck, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 11th May 2006

This was a wild bird in Turkey - just a shame I couldn't get better photos!

Marbled Duck, Göksu (Mersin, Turkey), 9th May 2010

This one turned up on the north Norfolk coast on a good day for spring migration and only stayed for a short time. It's credentials for being a wild bird were widely considered to be as high as almost any British record, but so far it has not been accepted as being a wild vagrant.

Marbled Duck, Kelling water meadow (Norfolk, UK), 23rd April 2000