Mangoverde :: World Bird Guide :: Ducks, Geese and Swans :: Common Shelduck

Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna

Described by: Linnaeus (1758)
Alternate common name(s): Shelduck, Red-billed Shelduck, Northern Shelduck
Old scientific name(s): None known by website authors

Photographs

Cley Marshes, Norfolk, England - Jul 22, 2001 © William Hull  Izumi, Kagoshima-ken, Japan - Feb 10, 2002 © William Hull  Yatsu Higata Nature Observation Center, Chiba, Japan - Mar 8, 2003 © William Hull  England - Date unknown © Andy Bright  Salines de Guérande, Loire-Atlantique, Pays de La Loire, France - Apr 9, 2002 © Alain Fossé 
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Range

W. Europe to c. Asia;
Fragmented distribution with two major breeding populations;
W. Palearctic breeding population extends s. from the Faroes and Shetland Is., c. Norway coast of the North Sea and Finland to Estonia on the Baltic Sea coast, Sweden, Ireland, Scotland, England (Bridgewater Bay, Somerset), n. and w. France (Brittany), Belgium, Netherlands (Waddenzee), n. Germany (Helgoland Bight in the Elbe Estuary), Denmark, Poland and Italy (Po Delta) with isolated small populations along the Mediterranean coasts of Spain, s. France (Camarque) and Sardinia. Winters s. from Ireland, Scotland and Denmark to Portugal, Spain, Italy, Sicily, Yugoslavia, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt (lower Nile River). The Asiatic breeding population extends from ex. se. Europe (Albania, ne. Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, s. Russia (n. shore of the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, Crimea) and across Turkey from the Caucasus to Kazakhstan, c. Asia in the Minusinsk Basin, Tuva, ex. s. Siberia in Transbaicalia through Mongolia (Altai) to China (Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Tsinghai, Kansu to Sinkiang, Szechwan, n. Yunnan) and Tibet with small populations in e. Iran (Persian Baluchistan, Sistan), Afghanistan.
Winters in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and s. Russia along the n. shore of the Black Sea (Sea of Azov), Cyprus, Syria, Israel, Jordan (Azraq Oasis Wildlife Reserve), Iraq, Saudi Arabia s. to Yemen and Oman, s. Caspian Sea region (Azerbaydzhan), Transcaucasus in n. and s. Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenia with smaller numbers wintering s. to North Africa, Iraq, Pakistan, Nepal (Kosi Barrage), n. India (Gujarat, Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Assam, Manipur, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh on Lakes Manchar and Chilka and in the Indus and Brahmaputra River Valleys), Bangladesh, n. Burma, s. China (s. of the Yangtze River w. to Hunan and s. to coastal Kwangtung), Andaman and Philippines Is., Korea (Naktong Delta) and Japan (Ariake Bay, Kyushu). Vagrant to Taiwan. Often escapes from captivity.

Videos

Izumi, Kagoshima-ken, Japan - Feb 10, 2002 Source: William Hull
Description: Birds are walking and feeding in a flooded field.

Sounds

Location unknown - Date unknown Source: Jeff Blincows Sound Gallery
Location unknown - Date unknown Source: ETI BioInformatics

References

Clements, James F. Birds of the World: A Checklist. Vista, CA: Ibis Publishing Company, 2000.

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