Red-crested pochard

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Red-crested Pochard
)

Red-crested pochard
Male
Female

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Netta
Species:
N. rufina
Binomial name
Netta rufina
(Pallas, 1773)
Range of N. rufina
  Breeding
  Resident
  Non-breeding
Egg, collection Museum Wiesbaden

The red-crested pochard (Netta rufina) is a large

Indian Subcontinent and Africa. It is somewhat migratory
, and northern birds winter further south into north Africa.

The adult male is unmistakable. It has a rounded orange head, red bill and black breast. The flanks are white, the back brown, and the tail black. The female is mainly a pale brown, with a darker back and crown and a whitish face. Eclipse males are like females but with red bills. They are gregarious birds, forming large flocks in winter, often mixed with other diving ducks, such as common pochards. They feed mainly by diving or dabbling. They eat aquatic plants, and typically upend for food more than most diving ducks.

A wheezing veht call can be given by the male. Series of hoarse vrah-vrah-vrah calls can also be heard from females.

Red-crested pochards build nests by the lakeside among vegetation and lay 8–12 pale green eggs. The birds' status in the British Isles is much confused because there have been many escapes and deliberate releases over the years, as well as natural visitors from the continent. However, it is most likely that they are escapees that are now breeding wild and have built up a successful feral population. They are most numerous around areas of England including Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and also spotted in Leicestershire.

The red-crested pochard is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (

AEWA
) applies.

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22680348A86012189.en
    . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Netta rufina.
Wikispecies has information related to Netta rufina.
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