African finfoot

Podica senegalensis

The African finfoot is an aquatic bird from the family Heliornithidae. The species lives in the rivers and lakes of western, central, and southern Africa.
African Finfoot A distant relative of the Sungrebe. African finfoot,Geotagged,Podica senegalensis,South Africa

Appearance

The African finfoot is an underwater specialist with a long neck, a striking sharp beak, and bright red, lobed feet. The plumage varies by race, generally pale underneath and darker on top. The males are usually darker than the females. It superficially resembles South America's torrent duck.

Status

The African finfoot's conservation status is hard to determine, given its elusive nature. It is not considered threatened, as it is not persecuted or targeted by hunters, and while scarce, it is very widespread. However, there is concern that it may become threatened, as wetlands are cleared and watercourses altered and polluted. It is also thought to tolerate only minimal disturbance. This and increased habitat fragmentation mean that the species needs to be monitored to safeguard it. There are currently no African finfoots in captivity.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Status: Least concern
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassAves
OrderGruiformes
FamilyHeliornithidae
GenusPodica
SpeciesP. senegalensis
Photographed in
South Africa