FAMILY ANATIDAE

• Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

• Chordates (Phylum Chordata

• Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

• Birds (Class Aves)

• Waterfowl (Order Anseriformes)

• Ducks, Geese, and Swans (Family Anatidae)

​

Family Anatidae comprises the ducks, geese, and swans, a widespread and highly successful family of waterfowl within the order Anseriformes. With more than 170 living species, anatids occur on every continent except Antarctica and inhabit a wide range of aquatic environments, including lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, estuaries, coastal lagoons, and ocean shorelines. Members of this family are characterized by broad bodies, relatively long necks, webbed feet, and flattened bills adapted for filtering, grazing, diving, or capturing aquatic prey.