---
title: "Knob-billed Duck"
description: "Sarkidiornis melanotos — Birds. The knob-billed duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos) or African comb duck is a type of duck found along the tropical/sub-tropical wetlands and waterways of Sub-Saharan Africa and the island of Madagascar, as well as most of South Asia and mainland Indochina."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/knob-billed-duck
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Knob-billed Duck

> Sarkidiornis melanotos — Birds. The knob-billed duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos) or African comb duck is a type of duck found along the tropical/sub-tropical wetlands and waterways of Sub-Saharan Africa and the island of Madagascar, as well as most of South Asia and mainland Indochina.

- Scientific name: *Sarkidiornis melanotos*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 2864
- Wikidata: [Q426968](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q426968)
- iNaturalist taxon: [7160](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7160)

## Names

- en: Knob-billed Duck
- de: Glanzente
- es: Pato crestudo afroasiático
- fr: Canard à bosse bronzé
- nl: Knobbeleend
- pt: Pato-de-crista
- pl: Dziwonos szaroboczny

## Countries with the most observations

IN (970), ZA (574), BW (169), TZ (136), ZW (102), NA (71), ZM (67), MG (62), KE (61), TH (49), SN (31), ET (27)

## Summary

The knob-billed duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos) or African comb duck is a type of duck found along the tropical/sub-tropical wetlands and waterways of Sub-Saharan Africa and the island of Madagascar, as well as most of South Asia and mainland Indochina.
Most taxonomic authorities classify the knob-billed duck and the comb duck separately. A misidentified species of extinct Mauritian comb duck was initially described from unrecognised remains of the Mauritius sheldgoose (Alopochen mauritiana); this was realised as early as 1897, but the printed case of mistaken identity can still, occasionally, be found in modern-day…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knob-billed_duck

## Photo

![Knob-billed Duck](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/knob-billed-duck/medium.jpg)

Photo: Steven Smethurst · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/67898950

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/knob-billed-duck?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).