Nettapus pulchellus

HABITAT:
Prefer deep freshwater lagoons, flood plains and swamps of coastal rivers, not normally more than 60 miles inland. Restricted to water areas that support floating vegetation, such as water lilies

DISTRIBUTION:
Tropical northern Australia and southeastern New Guinea

SIZE AND APPEARANCE:
Small, glossy, green duck with white cheeks

DIET:
Leaves, seeds, and flower heads of water plants

MISC:
Sometimes belying its Latin name (loosely translated as “beautiful little creature”), fighting among drakes is frequent. Aggressive males engage in intense, sustained disputes that can be remarkably vicious, and often involve underwater pursuits.

PROJECT NOTES:
Green Pygmy Geese populations have declined in some of the western parts of the
Australian range, a reduction attributed to destruction of aquatic vegetation by cattle. Wetland drainage poses a potential threat.

Mike Lubbock and the staff at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Center have attempted for a number of years to propagate the Green Pygmy Goose. So far, a world’s first breeding award has eluded Mike, partly due to the difficulty of obtaining sufficient breeding stock. Another puzzle yet to be figured out is precisely what type and location of nesting site the Green Pygmy Goose requires.

Recently, the project was invigorated with the arrival of eight birds (four pairs) from a private aviculturalist in Zimbabwe, Africa. However, the import was not without its share of drama. On a trip to Zimbabwe in 2002, the Lubbocks visited a Wildlife Reserve on the Zambezi River. While in the country, they also attempted to help a farmer rescue a small waterfowl collection before being evicted from his property, due to a proclamation by President Mugabe, returning to African war veterans. If these birds were not exported out of Africa, the locals, who found themselves in an extreme famine, would likely eat them. Of particular importance to the Lubbocks were four pairs of Green Pygmy Geese.

Getting the Green Pygmies to North Carolina was extremely complicated. The birds were booked on a plane twice, the first time actually flying the first leg of the journey and having to turn back. Both times the trip was cancelled by the various airlines and countries involved. Finally, with financial help from the Kooy Waterfowl Breeding Farm in Holland and lots of patience from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the birds were shipped out of Zimbabwe. Their journey took 2 ½ days traveling from Harare to London and then to New York, where they had a 30-day quarantine before finally arriving at Sylvan Heights.

ALI’S COMMENTS:
Speaking to the difficulty of determining the nesting requirements:
“In their breeding aviary, what we’ve done is create all different types of nest-box sites, because there’s no documentation as to what Green Pygmy Geese like. We’ve got nest boxes high, low, and on the ground. Plus we’ve got all different kinds - hollow boxes, natural, man-made. We’re like real estate agents; we offer them different houses and hope they’ll choose one! But, they haven’t, so far.”

Regarding the problem with the original breeding stock:
“These birds are getting really old now. We imported 13 birds about 14 years ago (1988) and there’s only three left. We’re hopeful that the four pairs of Green Pygmies we received from Zimbabwe will help.”

MIKE’S COMMENTS:
Very few of this species has left Australia. There are only a couple of pairs in Europe. The San Diego Wild Animal Park is the only facility other than Sylvan Heights to have the Green Pygmies in the United States.

“This bird has never been bred in captivity. Our success in the past with the African Pygmy-goose (world first breeding) and the Australian Cotton Pygmy-goose gives us hope for breeding the Green Pygmy Goose.”

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