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Common Shelduck
(Tadorna tadorna)
: "Shelduck"
 German name(s): "Brandgans"
Size: 55-65 cm (male larger than female); wing span 1.0-1.2 m
Weight: 850-1500 g (male), 560-1250 (female)
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Physical description |
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 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 also 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. Their bill, which has a strongly concave culmen,
and frontal knob are bright-red, especially during the
breeding
season.
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.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Common
Shelduck 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 based
on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to the
ebird.org
website.
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.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
J. Pires reports finding Common
Shelduck at Montargil, Alentejo, Portugal, in January 2016.
H. Dahlem-Senger reports spotting a Common Shelduck at the
Grüner Brink, Fehmarn, Germany, in April 2016, and again
in May 2019.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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BREEDING |
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Lateral view of a male Common Shelduck in breeding
plumage
feeding in shallow water
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Grüner Brink, Fehmarn, Germany, May 2019]
Dorsal view of a male Common Shelduck in breeding
plumage,
with a White
Wagtail for comparison (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Grüner Brink, Fehmarn, Germany, April 2016]
Dorsal view of a resting male Common Shelduck in breeding
plumage -
note the particularly crisp colours; the knob identifies
this bird as a male
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Grüner Brink, Fehmarn, Germany, April 2016]
Dorsal view of two Common Shelducks in breeding
plumage
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]
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FEMALE |
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Near-lateral and dorsal view of two Common Shelducks; the
absence of a knob on the bird on the right identifies
it as a female (photo courtesy of J. Pires )
[Montargil, Alentejo, Portugal, in January 2016]
Lateral view of a female Common Shelduck in breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Grüner Brink, Fehmarn, Germany, May 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
