| Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina (Pallas, 1773)) |
|
|
|
Scientific name: Netta rufina (Pallas, 1773) Common name: Red-crested Pochard French name: Nette rousse Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Size: Body size: 53 to 58 cm; Weight: 1000 to 1300 g; Wingspan: 84 to 88 cm. Habitat: Lakes and ponds surrounded by reed-beds or dense vegetation. Food: Aquatic plants collected by diving under water, but also some small fishes and invertebrates. Nesting: Red-crested Pochards nest on the ground in holes among vegetation. Females lay an sit on 8 to 12 eggs in May-June. Males sometimes come back to take care of the chicks after hatching. Migration: Red-crested Pochards winter in the Mediterranean region, around the Black Sea and in India. Geographic area: Europe, from the Iberian Peninsula (where nest about 80% of the European population) to southern Denmark, Central Asia to north-eastern China. |
Red-crested Pochards show an important sexual dimorphism. Males have a bright rufous upper part of the head with a pale brown underside. The back is a uniform dark brown colour with a white stripe on the shoulder. The neck, chest and tail are black. The flanks are white. The bill is red. The legs are orange red. The head feathers can be erected during the nuptial period. Females are duller. They have a dark brown upper side of the head contrasting with white or greyish white cheeks and neck. The back is brown, the under parts are slightly paler. |
| [To know more about the Red-crested Pochard] [Next picture] [Top] |
|
I have read, in the excellent book about birds of the French department of Saône-et-Loire, that these ponds of the Basse vallée du Doubs, completely surrounded by forest, are a regular nesting place for Red-crested Pochards for a few years. I didn't come back to check if this pair had nested on this pond. |
| [To know more about the Red-crested Pochard] [Previous picture] [Top] |
|
Here is a picture of the female in flight. |
André Bon November 2015