Rhodonessa caryophyllacea
pink-headed duck

Pink-headed ducks were one of the rarest species of waterfowl that were found in India. They mainly inhabited the area around the lower areas north of the Ganges and west of the Brahmaputra River.

Pink-headed ducks were usually found on enclosed waters surrounded by dense vegetation. They often inhabited small ponds that were surrounded by bushes and high grass. The surrounding country was usually a plain cut by deep streams. During the colder months they may have moved to rivers.

Head, sides of neck, and hind neck pale rosy pink; tuft of bright pink on head; throat brown; rest of body mainly glossy dark brown (paler beneath). The edges of the wings were whitish, and the speculum was reddish with a white band.

The breeding season of the Pink-headed duck began in April. The well-rounded nest was built in the center of tufts of high grass close to water. The nests were made of dry grass with a few feathers. The ducks were usually seen on their own or in pairs, and sometimes during the breeding season they aggregated in small flocks of up to ten birds. The eggs were either pure white or pale yellow and were almost perfectly spherical, unlike the eggs of most other ducks. A clutch consisted of as many as nine eggs and was attended by both the male and female.

Small groups (usually there were six to eight individuals but up to as many as forty) would sometimes gather, particularly in the winter. During the colder months, the birds were sometimes seen on open rivers, but they were rarely seen moving from one place to another, suggesting that they were fairly sedentary. Pink-headed ducks probably fed in two different manners. The first is called a "tip-up" type of feeding, where they "tip-up" in shallow water. The second is feeding during diving.

Poorly known, a gizzard of a dead bird contained waterweeds and small shells. However, there is also other evidence, such as the anatomy of the windpipe, suggesting that these birds were very able divers as well.

Sportsmen were pursued few pink-headed ducks simply because they were the rarest of waterfowl. Their flesh was considered inferior and they were usually not eaten. They were often sold, however, in Calcutta markets.

Became extinct as a result of clearing of land for agriculture and hunting.

Many other species of animals, such as the Bengal Tiger, depend on the same wetland habitat that the Pink-headed duck depended upon. The Bengal Tiger is also declining as a result of the destruction of its habitat. The Pink-headed duck was just the first species to disappear as a result of the destruction of the unique wetlands of Bengal, and something must be done in order to save the rest of the species that depend upon this habitat.