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Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) Alternate name(s): "Shelduck" German name(s): "Brandgans" Size: 55-65 cm (male larger than female); wing span 1.0-1.2 m Body mass: 850-1500 g (male), 560-1250 (female)

Europe: Family Group 2 Family Group 2 Table Common Loon Red-throated Loon Mute Swan Whooper Swan Greylag Goose Pink-footed Goose Greater White-fronted Goose Snow Goose Canada Goose Barnacle Goose Brent Goose Red-breasted Goose Common Eider Common Scoter Velvet Scoter Common Goldeneye Common Shelduck Ruddy Shelduck Northern Shoveler Eurasian Wigeon American Wigeon Garganey Northern Pintail Mallard Eurasian Teal Gadwall Common Pochard Red-crested Pochard Ferruginous Duck White-headed Duck Tufted Duck Ring-necked Duck Smew Red-breasted Merganser Goosander Great Crested Grebe Black-necked Grebe Little Grebe Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Common Shelducks are medium-sized ducks with a long neck. Both sexes have roughly the same plumage, with small differences. Male Common Shelducks are slightly larger than females. Males have boldly patterned plumage, with a glossy greenish-black head and upper neck. From a broad brown breast band downwards a central brown stripe goes down the front to the vent. Except for wide black-and-brown wing bars and a black central back the rest of their plumage is white. Only the vent and undertail are orange. Their bill, which has a strongly concave culmen, and frontal knob are bright-red. Females have duller colours where their partners are brown or black; the head and neck in particular are not as lustrous as the males'. The irises of both sexes are dark. The legs and feet are pink. Their bill is duller red and they have only a very small frontal knob. Juveniles basically have a white front, without a chest band, and a mostly grey to dark-grey back.

Taxonomy, classification See Common Shelduck at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species 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 . The global distribution of the Common Shelduck is available HERE . Common Shelducks have a patchy, but very wide-ranging distribution. Part of the population in Europe is sedentary, while all others are strongly migratory. All together, they are found from the north-western African coastal fringe, the Iberian coastal fringe (except the northern and north-western parts) the coastal areas of the British Isles and along the Atlantic coastline from southern France to the Danish islands towards Sweden in the West, via southern Scandinavia and parts of the north-eastern Mediterranean into western, central and eastern Asia. The Asian population forms two sub-populations that breed either from the North coast of the Black Sea eastwards into central Kazakhstan or from the western Mongolian/Russian/Kazakh border eastwards through northern Mongolia into north-eastern China. These Asian populations winter in southern Turkey, the Sinai and river Nile delta, the lower Euphrates/Tigris valley, in two locations along the Pakistani/Indian border and in parts of southern and central eastern China. Of the Asian populations only a small fraction around the Caucasus mountains is resident. In Europe Common Shelducks are permanent residents mainly along the Atlantic/North Sea coastline, from the Spanish/French border in the South to the islands in the Kaggerag and Skattegat between Denmark and Sweden in the North. There are also permanent populations along the eastern Greek coastline and parts if the northern coatline of the Black Sea (including Crimea). There is a migratory breeding population along much of the Baltic Sea coast and along the Atlantic coastline up to central Norway. Another small breeding population exists around the northern tip of the Adriatic Sea. The migratory birds spend the winters along the coastline of Iberia (from northern Portugal through the Mediterranean Spanish coastline to the Cote d'Azure, in southern Italy and along the Adriatic East coast from Croatia via Albania to Croatia. Shelducks live in coastal areas most of the year, where they also breed, but for breeding they may also move to large inland lakes. They have a strong preference for open habitats, with little or no vegetation. They feed in shallow water, but also on grassy shores and on farmland. Large numbers of Common Shelducks congregate in summer in the Waddensee, the German North Sea coastline, to moult flight feathers collectively in a safe environment.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Pires reports finding Common Shelducks semi-regularly in southern to central Portugal. H. Dahlem-Senger reports spotting a Common Shelduck at the Grüner Brink, Fehmarn, Germany, in April 2016, and again in May 2019. They were also found between Harlesiel and Schilling, Ostfriesland, Germany, in June 2021. Large numbers of Common Shelducks were also found at Neuharlingersiel, Ostfriesland, Germany, in September 2024. M. Eaton found a Common Shelduck in St. James's Park, London, England, in September 2019. In May 2023, H. Dahlem-Senger found Common Shelducks in various locations on Mallorca, Spain.

Photos

ADULT

PAIR

Lateral view of a pair of Common Shelducks
Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
In Common Shelducks the male, here on the right, has a more prominent frontal shield than the female.
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal de Sarilhos Grandes, Montijo, Setubal, Portugal, March 2020]

Lateral view of a pair of Common Shelducks; male on the right (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal de Sarilhos Grandes, Montijo, Setubal, Portugal, March 2020]

Dorsal view of a pair of Common Shelducks feeding in shallow water; the most massive bird, on the right, is the male
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Grüner Brink, Fehmarn, Germany, May 2019]

MALE

Lateral view of a male Common Shelduck; note the prominent frontal shield (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sado estuary, Portugal, January 2023]

Lateral view of a male Common Shelduck feeding in shallow water (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Grüner Brink, Fehmarn, Germany, May 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a male Common Shelduck - note how the mellow light accentuates the bird's colours, especially the glossy dark-green head and neck and the orange vent/undertail (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setubal, Portugal, January 2025]

Dorsal view of a (young?) male Common Shelduck (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montijo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2019]

Dorsal view of a male Common Shelduck with a White Wagtail for comparison (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Grüner Brink, Fehmarn, Germany, April 2016]

Comparison of a Common Shelduck with Common Redshanks in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Between Harlesiel and Schilling, Ostfriesland, Germany, June 2021]

Near-frontal view of a male Common Shelduck in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Moita, Tejo estuary, Portugal, April 2019]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a male Common Shelduck in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Moita, Tejo estuary, Portugal, April 2019]

FEMALE

Near-frontal view of a female Common Shelduck (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Salinas da Fuzeta, Olhao, Faro, Portugal, November 2021]

Lateral view of a female Common Shelduck looking towards the observer, with two more in the background
(photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Voivodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Lateral view of a female Common Shelduck (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Voivodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Lateral view of a female Common Shelduck dabbling in mud (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Grüner Brink, Fehmarn, Germany, May 2019]

Lateral view of a female Common Shelduck, together with a Common Sandpiper (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montijo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a female Common Shelduck (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montijo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2019]

Lateral view of a female Common Shelduck in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montijo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2019]

Lateral view of a female Common Shelduck in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montijo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2019]

Sex unknown

Resting Common Shelducks, male at the centre (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montijo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2019]

Common Shelducks with a number of other ducks (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Between Harlesiel and Schilling, Ostfriesland, Germany, June 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a pair of Common Shelducks in flight, male on the right (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montijo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2019]

Sex unknown

Lateral view of a resting Common Shelduck (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[St. James's Park, London, England, September 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of an immature male Common Shelduck; note the still growing knob (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal de Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setubal, Portugal, June 2022]

Lateral view of a juvenile Common Shelduck (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal de Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setubal, Portugal, July 2021]

Female Common Shelduck with a clutch of ducklings (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Parc Natural de s'Albufera de Mallorca, Mallorca, Spain, May 2023]

Food, Diet

Common Shelducks feeding in shallow water (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Salinas da Fuzeta, Olhao, Faro, Portugal, November 2021]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Partially migratory

Elementary unit: Large flock

Common Shelducks are resident in southern and central Europe, while in the northern and eastern part of their range they are breeding migrants.

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.

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