- Oxyura leucocephala
Identification
43-48cm (17-19 in)
- Chestnut brown body
- Blue bill
- White head
- Black cap and neck
Female
- Grey-brown body
- White face
- Dark bill, cap and a cheek stripe
Variation
Some birds show white undertail-coverts
Distribution
Patchily distributed Mediterranean basin Spain and North Africa to central Asia.
The integrity of the Spanish population threatened by hybridization with the imported Ruddy Duck
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Large tracts of open water with dense stands of aquatic plants.
Behaviour
Tail often held erect.
Diet
The diet consists mostly of the seeds and leaves of aquatic plants with the addition of some invertebrates.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Birdforum thread discussing id of this species
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) White-headed Duck. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 8 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-headed_Duck
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
