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Common Pochard
(Aythya ferina)
 German name(s): "Tafelente"
Size: 42-49 cm; wing span 67-82 cm
Weight: 700-1100 g
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Common Pochards are medium-sized diving ducks.
Their plumage
is dimorphic,
i.e. males
and females
are different.
In addition, both sexes have different breeding and eclipse
plumages.
Male
Common Pochards in breeding
plumage
have a deep-chestnut head and neck, with a black chest,
rump and undertail, while the rest of the body (belly,
flanks, back, wings) is light-grey.
In eclipse
the parts that are black become lightly vermiculated grey, while
the rest of the plumage
may lose its gloss, but remains largely the same.
Females
have much more inconspicuous, mostly greyish-brown
plumage.
Cap, chest, rump and undertail coverts may be somewhat darker
than the rest of the body.
In eclipse the plumage
of females
generally becomes duller; the back becomes mostly grey, with prominent
vermiculation. The head develops some faint markings, with indications
of light-brown patches on the lores and light-brown eye-stripes.
During the breeding season
males
have striking orange to red irises, while in eclipse they are
similar to those of
females,
which are yellowish.
The bill of both sexes is dark-grey, with a light-grey band,
which is narrower in
females
than males
(the light-grey band may disappear in males in eclipse).
The legs and feet are grey.
Juveniles
are more homogeneously and duller greyish-brown than
females,
with the cap of the head, the back and the chest a darker shade
of greyish-brown than the rest of the body.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Common
Pochard at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
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The global distribution of the Common Pochard is available
HERE
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Common Pochards are a partly migratory species whose range covers
large parts of Europe and Asia.
Parts of the European and western Asian population will spend
the winters around the Mediterranean, including Asia Minor,
the eastern Mediterranean coastline, parts of the northern
African coastal fringe and the river Nile valley.
Others breeding in temperate central to eastern Asia will
migrate to the coastline of Arabia, and parts of northern
India. The far-eastern breeding population migrates to
southern China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.
As opposed to Tufted
Ducks, Common Pochards do not usually cross either the Bering
Sea or the North Atlantic and therefore hardly ever reach the
North-Amercian continent.
In Europe Common Pochards are permanent residents mainly in
the western parts of the continent (France, parts of Iberia)
and on the British Isles (except most of Ireland and Scotland)
and in Denmark.
During the summer the migratory populations of Common Pochards
extend their breeding range eastward, basically anywhere to
the North of the Alps and the Danube river, up to southern
Scandinavia, the Baltic states and temperate European Russia
in the North and East.
The migratory population spends the winters in parts of Iberia,
southern France, all around the Mediterranean coastline and
the Black Sea, and in Ireland and Scotland.
Elsewhere (the Hungarian Pusta, parts of southern Sweden, the
Rhine valley, parts of the Cote d'Azure) they are found only
during migration.
They are NOT found in the highest mountain regions of the
Pyrenees and Alps, but also the Balkans and central to northern
Scandinavia.
Common Pochards need water with a depth of at least 1 metre.
They usually dive for food, but upend and dabble as well.
During the breeding season they have a preference for
open wetlands, submerged pasture and marshes
with nutrient-rich water.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
J. Pires reports spotting a Common Pochard
in Mora, Evora, Portugal, in March 2014. Tens of Common Pochards
were found in Mora, Evora, Portugal, in May 2019. Another group of
5 was found in Mora in April 2020.
D. Wilczynska reports finding Common Pochards in wetlands along the
river Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, in April 2017.
M. Eaton spotted Common Pochards in St. James's Park, London, England,
in September 2019.
G. Normand found a Common Pochard
in Bois de Vincenne, 12th district, Paris, France, in February 2020.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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BREEDING |
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Near-frontal view of a male Common Pochard in breeding
plumage
touching down on water
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]
Lateral view of a male Common Pochard in breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]
Lateral view of a male Common Pochard in breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, April 2017]
Near-dorsal view of a male Common Pochard in breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]
Frontal view of a male Common Pochard in breeding
plumage
banking to land
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]
Frontal view of a male Common Pochard in breeding
plumage
touching down on water
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]
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FEMALE |
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BREEDING |
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Frontal view of a female Common Pochard in breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, April 2017]
Lateral view of a female Common Pochard in breeding
plumage -
note the predominantly brown, vermiculated back
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, April 2017]
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NON-BREEDING |
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2 male Common Pochards in breeding
plumage
with a female that is still moulting into its breeding
plumage;
note the mostly grey back (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, April 2017]
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PAIR |
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BREEDING |
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Several pairs of Common Pochards in breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]
3 male Common Pochards in breeding
plumage
with a female (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, April 2017]
Two male Common Pochards in breeding
plumage;
click on photo to see another male and two females
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Divor river, Mora, Evora, Portugal, April 2020]
Lateral view of 2 male and 1 female Common Pochards in breeding
plumage in flight
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]
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NON-BREEDING |
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Lateral view of a male, back, and a female Common Pochard in
non-breeding plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[St. James's Park, London, England, September 2019]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
