Illustration of a male Shelduck painted by W Wright around 1830
The Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) is a widespread and common duck of the Genus is a bird which breeds in temperate Eurasia. Most populations migrate to subtropical areas in winter, but this species is largely resident in westernmost Europe, apart from movements to favoured moulting grounds, such as the Wadden Sea on the north German coast. The Common Shelduck is common around the coastline of Great Britain (where it is simply known as Shelduck), where it frequents salt marshes and estuaries. Moulting flocks can be very large (100,000 on the Wadden Sea), since most pairs leave their partially grown young in a crèche with just one or two adults. This species is mainly associated with lakes and rivers in open country, breeding in rabbit burrows, tree holes, haystacks or similar. In winter it is common on suitable estuaries and tidal mudflats as well. This bird is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. The young will dive under water to avoid predators and the adults will fly away from them to act as a decoy.
Size: 5100px × 4885px
Photo credit: © markku murto/art / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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