Photo © by Alok Tewari
Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March-2019
Alternative name: Brahminy Duck
- Tadorna ferruginea
Identification
61–71 cm (24-28 in)
- Orange-brown body
- Paler head
- White wing coverts
- Dark primaries and iridescent green secondaries ( better seen in flight )
- Male has black neck ring or collar clearly seen in breeding plumage
- Female lacks neck-collar and has pale or whitish face
Similar species
South African Shelduck, Australian Shelduck, and female Paradise Shelduck are all similar; they do not overlap naturally with Ruddy Shelduck, but care needs to be taken with escapes from captivity, particularly in western Europe. Hybrids between any of these four species can also occur as escapes or feral birds. Note the exact tone of the head colour and patterns in particular for distinguishing them.
Distribution
South-eastern Europe east to Lake Baikal and Mongolia. They are also in the Canary Islands (Fuerteventura), across north-western Africa and in the highlands of Ethiopia.
Their winter range extends to southern India and south-eastern Asia and China.
Taxonomy
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Chambal River, M. P., India, Jan-2014
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
They can be found in a variety of watery habitats, particularly brackish and salt lakes and crater lakes.
Behaviour
Breeding
They build their nests in burrows, tree holes or crevices sometimes quite a distance from water. The clutch consists of 6-16 creamy-white eggs, which are incubated for 30 days.
Diet
They are mostly vegetarian, their diet consisting of vegetables and shoot, rice grains, plant stems roots, grass, leaves and seeds.
Vocalisation
Recording by Alok Tewari
Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India, December-2015
Calls given by individuals in flight. Calls by Common Moorhens are also heard.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved February 2015)
- Birds of Indian Subcontinent : Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, OUP, 2014
- HBW Alive Descriptive notes : https://www.hbw.com/species/ruddy-shelduck-tadorna-ferruginea#Descriptive_notes
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Ruddy Shelduck. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Ruddy_Shelduck
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
