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Ruddy Shelduck

Ruddy Shelduck

Tadorna ferruginea

Identify the Ruddy Shelduck by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The Ruddy Shelduck is a striking, orange-brown, goose-like duck with a pale head and bold black-and-white wings. It breeds from south-eastern Europe across Central Asia and winters mainly on the Indian subcontinent, with small resident populations in North Africa. Known for its loud, nasal honking, it is also kept in collections, and feral birds occur in parts of Europe.

Did you know?

  • It lives on lakes up to about 5,000 m high in Central Asia.
  • In South Asia it is called the “Brahminy Duck” and features in folklore.

Voice

Call

About the species

Identification

A large duck with a uniform rusty-orange body and a pale creamy head; the breeding male has a narrow black collar. The bill and tail are black. In flight large white patches show on the black wings. Its uniform rusty colour and pale head separate it from other ducks, including Common Shelduck.

Family

Anatidae

Size

Very large (swan)

Colours

orange, black, white

About the habitat

Open inland waters – steppe lakes, reservoirs, wide rivers and brackish or saline lakes – up to high-altitude lakes in Central Asia; outside the breeding season also fields.

Diet

Omnivorous: mainly grasses, seeds and aquatic plants, as well as insects, molluscs and other small invertebrates, grazed on shores and fields or dabbled from shallow water.

Behaviour

Usually seen in pairs or small groups, grazing along shores and in fields or dabbling and up-ending in shallow water. Pairs are long-term and territorial and nest in holes or crevices away from water – in cliffs, burrows, tree holes or buildings. The female incubates about eight eggs for four weeks, and both parents tend the young. It gives loud, honking calls.

Sources

Photo: Original: Rohit Sharma, this edit: MPF, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2021-01-30 Ruddy Shelduck pair at Keoladeo, Rajasthan, India.jpg

Sound: Pascal Christe, XC466477, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/466477

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruddy_shelduck

See also