[4] As members of the stiff-tailed duck group, Maccoas are often found wading in the water with their tail feathers cocked upwards.

[4] The breeding male Maccoa stands out with its cobalt blue bill extending from a completely black head and throat.

[4] Non-breeding males closely resemble the females, except for a few points: a darker crown and hints of chestnut colour on the back.

[5] In 1995, a phylogenetic tree based solely on comparative traits suggested that O. maccoa and O. leucocephala were most closely related, while O. australis was put into a separate clade along with the New World species O. vittata, O. jamaicensis, and O.

Analyses examining mitochondrial DNA samples indicate that it is most likely O. leucocephala diverged first and that O. maccoa and O. australis share the most recent common ancestor.

[5] On the other hand, analyses comparing nuclear DNA show maximum likelihood that O. australis was the first to diverge and that O. maccoa and O. leucocephala are the closest relatives.

[5] Outside of the breeding season, Maccoa ducks tend to occupy inland waters - ranging from fresh to brackish - which are filled with nutrients.

[9] These ducks have been found to especially prefer Typha species in their breeding habitats, and will usually build their nests in hidden bundles of these reeds.

It is considered a sedentary species, meaning it does not migrate for winters or breeding, and simply moves around to find new wetlands for food and nesting.

[4] The main populations throughout Africa are spread quite far apart with large spatial gaps between them - this is likely because there is a lack of desirable wetland habitats for the ducks due to climatic variation across the continent.

[4] The average dive lasts about 15 to 22 seconds, and it uses this time to fill its bill with dark debris sitting at the bottom of the lake or pond – a perfect habitat for many invertebrates.

[9][4] These ducks will also predate on multiple stage classes of aquatic invertebrate species, including Tubifex worms, Diptera larvae, and Daphnia eggs.

[9] This species mates and lays its eggs typically between January and May, and spends this time in small, defended freshwater habitats with emerging vegetation, as mentioned above.