| Common Pochard (Aythya ferina (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
|
|
|
Scientific name: Aythya ferina (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Common Pochard French name: Fuligule milouin Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Size: Body size: 42 to 49 cm; Wingspan: 72 to 82 cm; Weight: 700 to 1100 g. Habitat: Shallow fresh or salty water: Marshes, ponds, lakes, with a preference for places with banks covered by reeds or iris. Food: The Common Pochard feeds by diving in shallow water (down to about 4 meter deep). It mainly feeds on seeds, roots and various plants. It may also eat some larvae, worms, molluscs and crustaceans. Nesting: The nest is a thick heap of grass among the vegetation bordering water. It is lined with female's down feathers. Females lay 5 to 12 eggs between April and June and then take care of the brood without any help of males. Migration: Birds nesting in central and northern Europe move to south west Europe to winter. Geographic area: Europe, Asia east to the Baikal lake. |
The Common Pochard is a gregarious bird that you can often see in flocks of several hundred birds or more. It is easy to tell apart males in nuptial plumage. The head and the neck are reddish brown, the chest is shiny black, the body is pale grey and the rear is black. The eyes are red. The bill is black with a pale grey mark. The silhouette is also typical with a sloping forehead and a conical-shaped cap. Females are greyish brown with the head, the neck and the chest being slightly darker. The back and the sides of the body are greyish. |
| [To know more about the Common Pochard] [Next picture] [Top] |
|
This Common Pochard is not an usual visitor in this region. In fact this is my first observation of this species. I have seen it during a few weeks. It must have flown away southwards after. |
| [To know more about the Common Pochard] [Next picture] [Previous picture] [Top] |
|
The Common Pochard is a bird which is easy to tell apart. And as one of my friend says, it is no use to have the red eye reduction feature set on your camera when you take a picture of this bird. |
| [To know more about the Common Pochard] [Previous picture] [Top] |
|
I sat in wait on the banks of this ox-bow lake of the Doubs river in the hope of photographing one Purple Heron. I am often observing several of them in the far at this place. I have not seen any Heron this times but one Common Pochard. |
André Bon September 2018