A brown duck with a vividly yellow bill and white scalloping on the feathers, giving it a scaly appearance, especially on the underparts. A common resident and nomad through Africa’s freshwater and brackish wetlands, where it forages for plants and invertebrates. The similar African Black Duck differs from Yellow-billed Duck by being darker overall and having white spots on the upperparts, a bull-neck, and a pale-pink-and-black bill.