Ferruginous Duck
Aythya nyroca
Rich rusty brown overall with contrasting white triangular patch under tail; male has pale eye. Also note peaked crown and rather long gray bill. In flight, both sexes show bold white wing stripe. Compare with female Tufted Duck (can have similar white patch under tail). Inhabits lakes and marshes, usually with surrounding reeds. Rather shy and often stays hidden in reeds, but at other times out in open water with flocks of Tufted Duck and Common Pochard.
Identification
The breeding male is a rich, dark chestnut on the head, breast and flanks with contrasting pure white undertail coverts. In flight the white belly and underwing patch are visible. The females are duller and browner than the males. The male has a yellow eye and the females have a dark eye.
Taxonomy
Genus: Aythya; Family: Anatidae; Order: Anseriformes.
- Scientific name
- Aythya nyroca
- Authority
- (Güldenstädt, 1770)
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Aythya
Range and habitat
The breeding range of the ferruginous duck is from Iberia and the Maghreb east to western Mongolia, south to Arabia, although in the west is now scarce and localised and locally extirpated in some countries. The duck winters throughout the Mediterranean Basin and the Black Sea, smaller number migrate into sub-Saharan Africa via the Nile Valley. Eastern birds winter in south and south-east Asia. The ferruginous duck prefers quite shallow fresh waterbodies with rich submerged and floating vegetation with dense stands of emergent vegetation on the margins. In some areas it will use saline or brackish pools or wetlands. On passage and wintering will also frequent coastal waters, inland seas and large, open lagoons.
- Breeding range
- PAL : w Europe and nw Africa to c Asia
- Non-breeding range
- AF
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Dendrocopos major
Widespread black-and-white woodpecker with a range that covers much of Eurasia. Note the big white shoulder patches, extensive red on vent, and black crown. Male has a red nape patch; juvenile (both sexes) has a red cap. Size and bold black-and-white plumage distinctive in most of range. Inhabits almost all types of forest and woodland, parkland, gardens, even farmland with hedges and scattered larger trees. Feeds mainly on trunks and larger branches; also visits feeders. Gives a sharp “kik!”, often in series. Drums frequently, often giving a short, fast series that trails off quickly.
Scaled Flowerpiercer
Diglossa duidae
Small, dark flowerpiercer with typical upturned, hooked bill. Slaty-blackish body with grayish spotted or scaled underparts and mostly black wings. Sexes similar. Common, usually alone or in pairs, piercing flowers in shrubby areas and forest edges. Call a high-pitched note typical of flowerpiercers; song a four-note “chip ZEET ZEET zeet.” No overlap with other flowerpiercers in its limited range in the Pantepui region of southern Venezuela and adjacent Brazil.
Souza's Shrike
Lanius souzae
Small, slim shrike with a brown wing and tail. Note the white slash across the shoulders. Males are gray below and females buffy. Found in broadleaf woodland of miombo, mopane, and Zambezi teak. Uncommon and very localized species. Perches high in trees, but rarely on the conspicuous open perches used by most shrikes. Often in pairs. The vocalizations include an annoyed-sounding “sveeat” and low rasps. Most similar to female Red-backed Shrike, but separated by the white mark across the shoulders and lack of barring on the underparts.
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