Shelduck
size:
58-71 centimeters; 110-133 centimeters wingspan
color (adults):
red bill, white and chestnut body, dark green head and neck; difference between male and female is that males have a red knob above their bill (more swollen in breeding season)
food:
laver spire shells, limpets, insects, fish and worms on mud flats; during molting season, seaweed and polyps in open water
Dutch status:
nesting bird; migratory, winter guest, seen year round
habitat
mainly coastal regions, but can also be found in large fresh water regions; breeds in dunes, haystacks or clumps of reed; forages on tidal flats and estuaries
reproduction:
maturity: 2 years
8-10 eggs
life span:
6 years (maximum known age: + 25 years)
special nature:
breeds in deserted rabbit holes, which is why the female has no camouflage color
- Dut: Bergeend
- Eng: Common Shelduck
- Fren: Tadorne de Belon
- Ger: Brandgans (Brandente)
- Nor: Fagergis (Gravand)
- Frisian: Berchein
- Ital: Volpoca
- Lat: Tadorna tadorna
- Dan: Gravand
print
- Shelducks, foto fitis, adriaan dijksen
Shelduck
Larger than most ducks but smaller than geese, shelducks are colorful birds and therefore easy to recognize. Actually, because both sexes are practically the same colour and both care for the eggs and chicks, they resemble geese more than ducks. Shelducks like mud. They grub in the mud while looking for something to eat, such as worms or snails.
- Camouflage
- Shelduck, foto fitis, adriaan dijksen
Shelducks nest in well hidden holes and cavities, such as deserted rabbit holes in the dunes. Because the nest is hidden, females can afford to have a colorful plumage. The ducks do whatever possible to keep their nests hidden. They fly in a line back to the nest. But the female will suddenly fall out of the air and land close to the hole. Even courting takes place far away from the nest.
- Run for your life
- Shelduck chicks, foto fitis, adriaan dijksen
When the chicks hatch, they are led directly water. This can mean a voyage of several kilometers, which does not go unknown to gulls and other predators. Sometimes, only one chick per nest reaches the water. The chicks become independent within a week.
- Distribution and habitat
- Shelduck, foto fitis, adriaan dijksen
In August, the northern European as well as the central European population of shelducks, a total of around 200,000 animals, gather in the German Bight to molt. It takes 4 weeks after molting for the ducks to fly properly again. Since the 1980s, molting concentrations have also been found in the Dutch Wadden Sea and delta region. During cold winters, should the mud flats freeze, many shelducks die of hunger since they can't find any food.
- Protection
WWW
See also
Info
Copyright Ecomare
