This species closely resembles the Flightless Steamer-Duck (T. pteneres), but Flying Steamer-Duck is slightly smaller and slimmer with a less goose-like bill. This is a male. Females are similar but have a dark bill. Of the four species of steamer-duck, this is usually claimed to be the only one that can fly. However it seldom does so and we did not observe this species in flight. Apparently not individuals are flight capable. Furthermore, it appears that a small percentage of Falkland (T. brachypterus) and White-headed (T. leucocephalus) Steamer-Ducks can fly. Past claims of Flying Steamer-Duck on the Falklands were apparently misidentifications. Only the Flightless Steamer-Duck (T. pteneres) is completely flightless. (Fulton et al. 2012).
Reference:
Fulton, T. L., Letts, B., & Shapiro, B. (2012). Multiple losses of flight and recent speciation in steamer ducks. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279(1737), 2339–2346. doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.2599
Digiscoped with Panasonic DMC-LX5 | Nikon FieldScope III | 30XWA | hand-held (no adapter)