Common Shelduck

Striking patterned plumage featuring a dark green glossy head and upper neck, a bright red bill with a prominent knob in breeding males, a broad chestnut-brown band across the white breast and mantle, dark green primary feathers, and a black stripe running down the center of the underparts. Females are slightly duller with a smaller bill knob and more white around the bill base. Juveniles have scaly grey-brown upperparts and a white face and underparts.

Large size, upright stance, red bill, dark green head, broad chestnut breast band, and white body with dark patches.

Length: 55-65 cm (22-26 inches), Wingspan: 100-120 cm (39-47 inches), Weight: 800-1,500 g (1.8-3.3 lbs).

Noisy birds; females produce a rapid, high-pitched, staccato quacking or chattering call ('ak-ak-ak'), while males emit a softer, whistling or low honking note.

Primarily carnivorous, feeding on small mollusks, crustaceans (especially the mud shrimp Hydrobia), insects, worms, and occasionally seeds and algae by dabbling and probing mud.

Coastal areas, sheltered estuaries, mudflats, saltmarshes, sandy shores, and occasionally inland saline lakes and reservoirs.

Partial migrant; northern and eastern populations are migratory, moving south and west for the winter, while western European populations are largely resident.

Nests in hidden cavities such as rabbit burrows, rock crevices, or dense brush, often far from water. Lays a clutch of 8 to 12 creamy-white eggs in April-May. Incubation lasts around 30 days, performed mainly by the female.

Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea), which has a more uniform orange-brown body and paler head, though ranges can occasionally overlap.

Acts as an important predator of intertidal invertebrates like snails, crustaceans, and small mollusks, helping to control local populations and contributing to nutrient cycling in wetland and estuarine ecosystems.

Least Concern, with a generally stable global population trend.

Best observed with binoculars or spotting scopes along wide tidal mudflats, estuaries, and sandy beaches during low tide when they forage actively in groups.

Common Shelducks undergo a major migration to specialized molting sites, such as the Wadden Sea, in late summer, leaving their young in 'creches' supervised by a few adult ducks.