Garganey

Adult males in breeding plumage have a striking white supercilium curving down the dark brown head, greyish body, and long, drooping scapulars. Females and eclipse males are mottled brown with a pale throat and a distinct dark stripe through the eye.

Small size, dark crown with a pale supercilium in females/eclipse, pale blue-grey wing covert patch visible in flight.

Length: 37-41 cm, Wingspan: 59-67 cm, Weight: 300-600 g

Males produce a characteristic, rattling or crackling mechanical call during courtship. Females give a quiet quack.

Omnivorous; feeds on seeds, roots, and vegetative parts of aquatic plants, as well as aquatic insects, crustaceans, and mollusks by dabbling.

Shallow, nutrient-rich freshwater wetlands, flooded fields, marshes, and shallow lakes with dense emergent vegetation.

Strictly migratory. Highly specialized long-distance migrant that winters entirely in the tropics and subtropics, primarily in Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

Nests on the ground hidden in dense vegetation near water. Lays 7 to 9 eggs in a shallow scrape lined with down.

Bluewinged Teal (Spatula discors) in North America, which has a more prominent facial crescent in females and males; and the Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), which is smaller and lacks the pale supercilium or distinct face stripe of female/eclipse Garganey.

Acts as an important seed disperser for aquatic plants and helps control aquatic invertebrate populations in wetland ecosystems.

Least Concern, with a generally stable global population trend, though locally impacted by wetland habitat loss.

Look for them in shallow, heavily vegetated wetlands, marshes, and flooded meadows. They can be wary, so use binoculars or a spotting scope from a blind.

Unlike many other dabbling ducks, the Garganey is a complete summer visitor to its breeding grounds and completely vacates Europe and northern Asia for the winter.