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White-Headed Duck

White-Headed Duck

Oxyura leucocephala

Identify the White-Headed Duck by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The White-headed Duck is a compact stiff-tailed diving duck of lakes and ponds in Spain, North Africa and western to central Asia. Males have a white face, black cap and neck and a swollen, bright blue bill, while females are browner with a striped face. It has declined sharply and is Endangered, mainly from habitat loss and pollution, and in Europe also from hybridisation with introduced Ruddy Ducks.

Did you know?

  • When threatened it usually paddles away rather than flying.
  • Its hybrids with Ruddy Ducks are fully fertile, threatening its genetic integrity.

About the species

Identification

A stocky diving duck with a large head, a long, stiff tail often held upright and a swollen bill. The breeding male has a white head with a black cap, a black neck, a chestnut-brown body and a bright blue bill. The female is brown with a dark cap and a pale cheek crossed by a dark stripe, and a dark bill.

Family

Anatidae

Size

Large (crow)

Colours

brown, white, blue, black

About the habitat

Brackish or fresh lakes and ponds, natural or artificial, with open water and dense reed fringes for shelter and nesting.

Diet

Mainly aquatic plants and seeds, and bottom-living invertebrates such as midge larvae, taken by diving.

Behaviour

An adept diver that spends almost all its time on the water, often among dense vegetation, and sleeps with its tail cocked. It is reluctant to fly and usually swims away or dives when disturbed. The female nests in reeds and lays very large eggs for her size.

Sources

Photo: Bouke ten Cate, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Witkopeend - white-headed duck - Oxyura leucocephala 3.tif

Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-headed_duck

See also