A duck is smaller than a mallard crossword puzzle 10. Types of ducks. You need to know them by sight. Mallard duck with brood
My main hunting place is the Tver region. In the spring we hunt woodcock, goose or duck with a decoy or decoy. In the fall, first we set out with the cops to hunt swamp and meadow game, then duck hunting begins. In this post, I wanted to pay attention to several main species of ducks found in our area - mallard, wigeon, teal, pintail, shoveler, dusky and coot.
Mallard. mallard drake and duck. This is one of the famous and common breeds of ducks. It is large, about 60 cm in length. The head and neck of the drake are covered with emerald-pearl velvet. The neck part is separated from the dark body by a bright white rim. The female has a much more modest color - she is brown with mottled spots. Mallards arrive in large flocks in the spring, at the end of March, when fluffy carpets of snow still lie on the ground. But as soon as the warm, cozy sun begins to weave its patterns, forming puddles and nimble streams, the mallard ducks descend towards them. During this early period, they are still fearful and preoccupied with circumstances. A little later, when the green grass becomes a good shelter for the ducks, they will become more peaceful and more relaxed. The ducks will split into pairs and present an idyllic picture of family life: the drake husband never leaves his duck wife. The duck gets the opportunity to secretly leave her faithful, loving drake spouse at the moment of laying eggs. After which she finally leaves him and goes into the reeds to hatch. At this time, the drake continues to get bored and call for a girlfriend, and becomes a good prey for hunters. By the end of August - by the beginning of September, when the brood has already grown, the second hunting season begins. The young are lighter and smaller than the old drakes. He is not distinguished by his intelligence and intelligence, and therefore allows the hunter to come close to him. In October, ducks begin to flock and leave their homes.
Wigeon. Wigeon drake. This is a less “quack” duck with a brick-colored head and a light body. It reaches 50 cm in size. During a fast flight, the male makes a whistling sound similar to “swiiii-swiiii.” The sounds of females are similar to a short crackling quack “ker”. The high flight speed of this duck makes the hunter work hard. But they shoot wigeons not only for the excitement of sport, but also for the sake of delicious duck meat. This duck is not distinguished by vigilance and therefore it is easier to take it while in good secrecy.
Wigeons nest in places not far from water bodies and hidden from view. Within a month and a half after hatching, the chicks can fly. Plans for wintering begin to be made in September-October. Although they may be delayed until November.
Teal. Teal-whistle drake This duck was named after the characteristic sound it made: “teal, teal.” It is a small bird (about 35 cm long) with a short neck and pointed wings. Thanks to them, the teal can quickly soar vertically upward at almost a right angle. During the mating season, the male has a bright colorful color, which he loses by the end of summer, becoming similar to a gray female. Several types of teal are known and they all differ in appearance. Drake - teal-whistle- has a green stripe running horizontally along the line of the eye. Flying around the female during the mating season, it makes a whistling sound, which is why it got its name. Another subspecies - teal– distinguished by a white stripe on the head. This one, in turn, in pursuit of the female, destroys everything around with a crash and noise. Teal-kloktun drake Third in a row - teal. Its nesting places are Northern Asia, Sakhalin. The teal has a beautiful pattern on its head, consisting of gold and emerald stripes. And finally, the fourth type - marble teal has a color characteristic of the name.
Pintail. Duck and drake, as always, differ from each other not in favor of the first. The duck is light gray with a speckled pattern. The drake has a dark coffee-colored head and a white neck with a characteristic upward stripe at the back of the head. The body itself is gray. The drake's tail is awl-shaped and elongated - hence the name. This is a large duck, reaching a size of 50-60 cm (including the tail). In flight, the pintail often flaps its wings and makes a whistling sound in the air. During the flight from wintering grounds, pintails can develop relationships and then fly to the nesting site in pairs. For nests, dry places are chosen, often open.
Shoveler As its name suggests, this duck's nose is wide. This is a relatively small individual with a short neck. The color of the female is motley, gray-brown. The male has a dark green head with a pearlescent tint, a white body with red sides and belly, and a black back with tail. The duck lives in open places: steppes, meadows, and treeless islands. Shovelers find food in shallow water. Its diet consists of larvae, mollusks and insects. The mating season of the Shoveler lasts from April to June. From the moment the eggs hatch, the female is left alone, and the drake and her friends are immersed in their bachelor concerns.
Mob orBlack. A flock of blackbirds, arriving in the spring and landing on the water surface of lakes or ponds, turns the surface of the reservoirs into a black blanket.
Tufted Duck has a crest on its head. In the drake it is more pronounced than in the female. The drake itself is all black with a white belly. The color of the duck is brown. The drake makes sounds similar to “goo-goo-goo”. The duck usually nests in groups, along rivers and lakes, in overgrown areas. It can often be found in park areas. Also known Sea blackfish. This is a large-built duck with a short neck. The absence of a crest on the back of the head distinguishes it from a related species. This duck winters in the area of sea coasts and flies to nest in areas of flowing lakes with rich vegetation.
Coot This waterfowl (of the rail family) is distinguished by a white beak against a matte black head and body. Water is its main habitat, usually shallow water. From a distance, this duck can be easily distinguished from others by its characteristic nodding in time with the pushing of its legs and its tail lowered into the water. Taking off, the coot runs through the water for several meters, while diligently flapping its wings.
The coot feeds on shoots and fruits of aquatic flora. Both the duck and the drake jointly guard their nest during the breeding period. But the father bears not only security functions - they also take turns incubating eggs.
These beautiful birds show the amazing diversity of wild ducks found around the world. Of the 120 species of ducks, there are only a few that truly stand out for their spectacular plumage, oddly shaped beaks, or unique calls. We've rounded up 14 incredible species of wild ducks that are more unusual than your average city park pond mallard (although mallards are great ducks, too).
Kamenushka (lat. Histrionicus histrionicus)
While we usually think of ducks as living around calm ponds, there are several species that live their lives in much rougher waters. Kamenushka inhabits high mountain areas, mainly rivers of the glacial zone. Males of this species have a complex plumage pattern.
Comb eider (lat. Somateria spectabilis)
The common eider is an arctic species that nests in the tundra and spends the winter in sea waters. Can dive deep to feed on crustaceans, molluscs and other prey. It differs from the usual eider in its smaller size.
(lat. Clangula hyemalis)
The long-tailed duck has intricate plumage from head to tail. This species is one of the deepest diving ducks - up to 60 m below the ocean surface. Long-tailed ducks spend more time underwater than on the surface compared to other diving duck species, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
(lat. Aix galericulata)
Although native to East Asia, the mandarin duck can now be found in several parts of the world, including England, Ireland and California, where individuals that were in captivity have escaped and established new wild populations.
Crested merganser (lat. Lophodytes cucullatus)
This little duck's extraordinary crest is the source of its name. Both males and females have a crest, but only the male has a striking black and white coloring. Males raise their crest during mating season and try to impress females.
Pink-eared duck (lat. Malacorhynchus membranaceus)
This unusual duck species is named for the pink spot on the side of its head, but the pink-eared duck's main distinguishing feature is actually its beak. The large, flat, square bill and its special structure are used to filter microscopic plants and animals in the water, which make up the majority of the species' diet.
Lutok or small merganser (lat. Mergellus albellus)
Lutok is another species of merganser that lives in Europe and Asia. Its unusually beautiful black and white plumage and crest allow the Lesser Merganser to take pride of place among 14 incredible species of wild ducks.
Spectacled eider (lat. Somateria fischeri)
Another type of eider with an incredibly unique face - . The pale green patch of feathers on the back of the head and the bright orange beak of males help further exaggerate the unique markings around the eyes. These beautiful birds are found in coastal areas of Alaska and Siberia, nesting in the tundra during the summer. The species is not very well studied, is not very common, and the number of individuals is declining. Breeding populations in western Alaska declined 96% from 1970 to 1993.
Spotted scoter (lat. Melanitta perspicillata)
Their appearance is something between harlequins and eiders. The spotted scoter is found in coastal waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans during the summer, where it hunts molluscs, crustaceans, aquatic insects and other small prey.
White-faced whistling duck (lat. Dendrocygna viduata)
This beautiful species of duck delights not only with its appearance, but also with its vocal abilities. The species is called the whistling duck because the sound it makes is very similar to the sound of a toy whistle.
Teal (Anas formosa)
Such a beautiful species of ducks that bird watchers can watch them for several hours. The teal is primarily found in East Asia and occasionally, although rarely, in Alaska. Due to hunting and habitat loss, the number of individuals of this species declined sharply at the end of the 20th century, but now continues to recover strongly.
Carolina duck or Caroline (lat. Aix sponsa)
The Carolina duck has many similarities to the mandarin duck that are easy to spot. It is one of the most colorful waterfowl species in North America. The species suffered serious damage and almost disappeared at the end of the 19th century. After enormous conservation efforts, the number of individuals has returned to normal.
American duck (lat. Oxyura jamaicensis)
The species is easily recognized by its bright blue beak. Males use their beaks and plumage during the breeding season to attract the attention of any interested females. During the winter, their brilliant plumage, as well as their blue beak, fades to gray.
Shoveler (lat. Anas clypeata)
Although this species looks the same as a mallard, you will certainly notice its elongated, spoon-shaped bill. It helps the shoveler filter small crustaceans and other invertebrates from the water. Thanks to such an excellent beak, this type of duck does not have problems with food for most of the year.
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Hunting for waterfowl requires from the hunter great endurance, dexterity, ingenuity, the ability to wield an oar and swim well, and most importantly, the art of fast and accurate shooting at whirling teals or red-headed ducks, at rising mallards or at a swooping flock of white-sided goldeneyes. Most hunters took their first shots at ducks. And their first trophy - a smart drake that splashed loudly into the water - cemented their hunting passion for the rest of their lives. Every conscientious hunter must strictly observe hunting laws, not violate hunting deadlines, not exceed shooting standards, and vigorously fight poachers and all those who harm the hunting business.
It is the duty of every hunter to personally participate in all kinds of reproductive activities: in feeding wild animals and birds, in creating favorable conditions for their life and reproduction, in protecting hunting grounds. Unfortunately, we still have quite a few hunters who believe that we need to take care not of migratory game, but of sedentary game, that ducks and other migratory birds are our temporary guests, flying to warmer climes in the fall, and therefore affect their numbers we don't have any options. This view is completely wrong.
For ducks nesting in our country, ponds serve as the main home in which they live for a long time, raise offspring, and only temporarily, for the winter, are forced to fly to warmer climes. In addition, young, recently born ducks are more often exposed to all sorts of dangers than older, cautious and more experienced ones. Therefore, the most dangerous period in the life of ducks is the period from the moment they hatch from eggs until they reach full maturity, usually coinciding with the time of departure for the winter. From this it follows that the greatest attention to ducks, to their protection and protection from unreasonable extermination should be shown during their stay in our country for nesting. This, of course, does not exclude caring for ducks in wintering areas. There should be no hunting at all in wintering areas.
It is generally accepted that 41 species of different ducks live in our country or have ever been seen on migration. However, such a duck as the tufted shelduck has become extinct almost everywhere, and has not appeared in our country since the last century. American wigeon, Icelandic goldeneye and goldeneye tadpole only came to us by chance.
Scaly-tailed merganser and spotted scoter are extremely rare in our country. The 4 species of eiders nesting on the northern sea coasts cannot also be considered hunting objects. Thus, only 31 species of ducks can be considered the object of duck hunting, which the hunter encounters on the hunting trail and which he needs to know. Let's look at eleven so-called real or river ducks. For clarity, along with a list of names and descriptions of varieties, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the photo.
The most common and most popular among hunters is undoubtedly the mallard. In some places it is also called kryakusha, kryzhen, seasoned duck, pitching. This duck nests and is found migrating throughout almost the entire territory of our country. She is the ancestor of domestic ducks. The mallard is a fairly large duck, reaching a weight of 1700 grams in the fall. In breeding plumage, the mallard drake is very beautiful. Its head and neck are covered with shiny dark green feathers with a metallic tint, and in the middle of its neck there is a white collar. The forechest and crop are dark brown. The belly and sides are grayish-white, with small transverse streaky stripes. The front of the back and the back of the neck are brownish-gray with lighter stripes. The back of the back is black-brown, the uppertail is grey-black, shiny, the undertail is velvety black. The middle tail feathers are curved upward in a semicircle and form pigtails. The wings have pronounced shiny purple mirrors with a metallic sheen, bordered on both sides with black and white stripes. The beak is greenish, the legs are caral-red. The duck, the young drake and the drake that have changed their breeding plumage are colored in grayish-brown and ocher tones, mottled with black spots. The hunters make a flapping sound of their wings, which is also almost no different from the voice of a domestic drake.
Mallards are migratory birds. They winter in southern Europe, Africa, Asia, as well as in the southern regions of our country. Often mallards remain to spend the winter in their nesting places - on ice-free rivers. Mallard ducks fly to their nesting sites in early spring, often when there is snow in the forests and even in clearings, and there is no ice on the reservoirs. They fly to their wintering grounds late, staying on migration until the end of October, and sometimes until mid-November.
Mallard duck with brood
In the spring, soon after arriving at the nesting sites, mallards break into pairs and begin breeding. This process is accompanied by a kind of current: the drake and duck take bizarre poses and make original movements with the sound of their voices. Similar mating displays in the spring can be observed in most other wild ducks. While the female lays eggs, the drake stays close to the nest. Soon after the end of the mating season, the drake begins to molt and goes into the thicket. The duck usually makes its nest near a pond, but sometimes it can be found in the forest, in tree hollows. The mallard builds its nest very carefully, using dry grass, reeds, and weeds for construction. The duck's nest tray is thickly covered with its own down. Leaving the nest during incubation, the duck reliably covers the eggs with down. The number of eggs in a clutch usually ranges from eight to twelve. Incubation lasts 26 days. Mallard chicks hatch from the eggs almost simultaneously, and after 12-15 hours they leave the nest and go to the dense thickets of the river for a tag. From the first days of birth, ducklings swim and dive beautifully. At first they feed mainly on small insects and larvae, but gradually their diet is replenished with plant foods.
Yellow-billed or black-billed mallard
The mallard drake, like the drakes of other ducks, except for the shelduck and shelduck, does not take any part in caring for the offspring. The mother tenderly takes care of the cubs and selflessly protects them from enemies. Ducklings develop quite quickly and by the age of one month they already weigh 500-600 grams. The young fledge gradually. The flight feathers are the last to grow, and therefore the grown and matured ducklings cannot fly for some time. Fleeing from danger and quickly escaping through the water, they vigorously flap their unfeathered wings, for which hunters received the name flappers or flappers. By the age of two months, mallard ducklings, together with the stark ducklings, begin to fly. The mallard has many enemies. Its nests are destroyed by foxes and raccoon dogs, crows and marsh harriers, and in the first days after leaving the nest, the ducklings also suffer from pikes. Sometimes a duck, if the first clutch of eggs dies, makes a second one, building a new nest for this. There are always fewer eggs in the second clutch than in the first. Mallards, like other ducks (except long-tailed ducks), molt twice a year.
The first molt, the so-called postnuptial moult, is complete. During it, many mallards lose the ability to fly due to the loss of their flight feathers. The second molt, the so-called prenuptial moult, is incomplete (it occurs in the fall, when the drakes dress in their nuptial plumage and wear it until the beginning of the summer of the next year, i.e., until the postnuptial molt). During molting, mallards sometimes gather in large groups in well-protected ponds abundantly overgrown with reeds and sedges. After the young rise to the wing and the old ones finish molting, mallards fly twice a day: in the evening - to feeding areas, and in the early morning - for the day. Both ponds and grain fields serve as feeding grounds for them. Daytime habitats are usually well-protected by vegetation and inaccessible reservoirs. These places can be detected by the abundance of fallen feathers and sagging (traces) in the duckweed.
Widespread methods of hunting in the morning and evening dawns are based on flights. Closer to departure, broods of mallards, connecting with each other, form flocks, which in late autumn head to wintering areas, sometimes staying for quite a long time during migration in intermediate areas. A close relative of our mallard, a subspecies of the yellow-nosed mallard, the so-called black duck, lives in the Far East. It is smaller in size than the common mallard, and unlike it, the mallard drake does not dress in breeding plumage and its plumage is almost identical to that of a duck. Both sexes are somewhat darker and duller in color than the mallard duck; they have white spots on their wings. The lifestyle of the black mallard has not yet been sufficiently studied and, according to available data, differs little from the lifestyle of the common mallard.
In some places this duck is called gray duck, serushka, semi-mallard, semi-mature, semenukha and nereznem. The gray duck is significantly smaller in size than the mallard; its weight, as a rule, does not exceed a kilogram. A drake in breeding plumage has a brownish-gray head, speckled with small dark specks. The neck and sides of its body are gray, with thin black stripes. The back is gray-brown, the rump and undertail are velvety black. The chin and neck are yellowish, gradually turning into a reddish color. The crop and upper chest are blackish-gray, edged with black and white. The lower part of the chest is whitish, the wings are gray in different shades. The underwings are white, the beak is gray, the paws are yellow with dark membranes. The duck is colored more uniformly: its predominant colors are brown, yellow and black, mottled with edges, transverse stripes and longitudinal streaks. The beak is yellowish, the paws are dirty yellow with dark membranes. In our country, the gray duck is less common than the mallard.
It is common in the eastern and southeastern regions; it nests in smaller numbers in the central regions, and extremely rarely in the western regions. It lives mainly in oxbow lakes, remote forest lakes and reservoirs with stagnant water. Winters mainly outside Russia. In our country it is found in wintering grounds in Transcaucasia and the Caspian Sea. Gray ducks make nests on the ground, sometimes quite far from the pond, in bushes or thickets of weeds. The ducklings hatched from the eggs, barely dry, and go to the pond together with the queen. If two or more broods of sagefish live in a reservoir, they often unite into one flock. In this case, all the ducks take care of the united ducklings. Gray ducks feed mainly on plant foods, less often on animals. Mature broods often fly out to feed in grain fields. The voice of a gray duck resembles the voice of a mallard, but it is more crackling and sounds sharper. The drake's voice is similar to the dull croaking of a raven. In all other respects, the gray duck’s lifestyle resembles that of a mallard, although it is more trusting than the latter. The flight of the gray duck is light, fast and not as noisy as that of the mallard.
Hunters often call it the sharptail and the pintail. In our country, it is widespread in the forest-tundra area, forest belt, in the central and eastern regions, somewhat less frequently in the southern regions. The pintail is colored very uniformly - in gray and brownish tones, has a gray beak and gray paws. The plumage is approximately the same in both young and old drakes that have moulted after the mating season. In breeding plumage, the drake is exceptionally beautiful. Its head is bright brown, its crop, the front of the neck and chest are pure white, the sides, back and back of the neck are gray, with dark streaky stripes, the abdomen is whitish-gray. The upper (covert) feathers of the drake's tail are black. The middle tail feathers are elongated and pointed in the form of an awl, which was the reason for the name of this duck. On the sides of the head, from the back of the head to the neck, there are two distinct white stripes. The drake's beak is bluish-gray, its paws are gray. Pintails usually break into pairs before arriving at the nesting sites. Pintail nests are built near a body of water, often in open and dry places. During the duck's incubation of eggs, the drakes at first stay close to the nest, and with the onset of molting, they leave the nesting area and huddle in the support.
Ducklings grow quickly and are on the wing by the beginning of the hunting season. Pintails feed on both animal and plant foods. The pintail is smaller in size than the mallard, reaching a weight of just over a kilogram. On the water, a drake dressed in a nuptial feather looks somewhat larger than a mallard, mainly due to its long neck and elongated tail. Many hunters, not without reason, consider the pintail a more valuable trophy than the mallard, due to its beautiful appearance, fast flight and excellent meat, superior in taste to the meat of mallard ducks. Shoveler. In some places it is called carpenter, lo-ponoska and soksun. The duck is of medium size, its weight before leaving for the winter does not exceed 800-850 grams. It differs from other ducks in the structure of its beak, which in the Shoveler is disproportionately wide (much larger than in the Mallard) and resembles an oar, greatly expanding from the base to the top. The duck's plumage is similar to that of a mallard.
The drake's head and neck are black, with a purple-blue tint on the sides. The back, undertail and rump are shiny black. The crop is white, the chest and sides are light brown. There are white markings on the back, and the shoulders are covered with white feathers. The beak is black, the paws are orange-red, the mirror is green with a metallic tint. The Shoveler makes its nest near the water. The shirokokonoska feeds mainly on animal food. The voice of the broad-billed duck resembles the quack of a duck, but is more dull and monotonous. The drake makes a dull clucking sound similar to the sounds of “kho-kho-kho”. Shovelers are less vocal than other ducks and their calls can only be heard in the spring. Shooters are hunted a lot, although shooting at this duck, due to its relative trustfulness, is less sporting than shooting at other ducks. Shovelers love to join domestic ducks and willingly swim among them. Shovelers fly away for the winter earlier than other ducks.
They are also called wigeon and whistler because of the melodic whistle emitted by the drake mainly during the mating season. The duck’s voice is sharp, reminiscent of the sounds of “rerr-rerr”. The wigeon nests mainly in the northern regions of our country and in Siberia. On migration it is found everywhere. About the size of a shoveler. The drake in breeding plumage has a yellowish-white forehead and upper part of the head, the rest of the head and neck are reddish-brown, covered with black speckles. The back and shoulders are gray, with dark streaky stripes. The crop and sides are grayish-wine, the belly is white. There are pronounced white spots on the wings. The mirror is green with a metallic sheen. The rump is white in the middle and black at the edges. The legs and beak are gray. The beak is much shorter and narrower than that of other ducks. The female is colored in grayish-brown and blackish-brown tones, with dark streaks and light edges of the feathers. The belly is white.
Wigeons fly quickly, but rarely dive. They feed mainly on plant foods: green shoots, rhizomes, berries. They nest on small lakes and rivers with dense vegetation and open reaches. Nests are usually made in the forest near water. Wigeon ducklings develop and grow faster than most other ducks and after a month and a half they can already fly. Wigeons arrive from wintering grounds earlier than many other ducks, and in the fall they fly away later, sometimes staying until the end of November. Wigeon meat is highly valued. Killer whale, or touchy drake. Somewhat smaller than the shoveler, the drake weighs up to 750 grams.
In breeding plumage, the drake is very beautiful and differs significantly from other drakes. Its head and neck are dark brown, with a metallic tint in places. The shoulder blades, shoulders and back are gray, with a dark streaky pattern. The chin and throat are white, on the neck there is a black ring with a greenish-metallic sheen. The rump and undertail are velvety black. On the back of the head there is a tuft of elongated feathers. Part of the flight feathers on the wings is also elongated and curved downwards in a sickle shape, their color is velvety blue, with a narrow light border on each feather. The wing lining is pure white, the beak is black, the paws are gray with dark membranes. Ducks are colored in dark brown, light brown and ocher-red tones with dark spots. The flight feathers are less elongated and do not form braids, like those of the drake.
Killer whales nest only in the eastern regions of the country; they are extremely rare west of the Yenisei. They winter in Japan, Southern China and Vietnam. They nest most often in small lakes and oxbow lakes. Nests are made in thick grass or bushes near a pond. They feed mainly on green shoots. During migration, killer whales often stay together with other ducks. The duck's voice resembles that of a mallard; the drake makes a peculiar melodic whistle. Killer whales fly away early for the winter, usually in September. Killer whales are very cautious and mistrustful birds, and hunting them involves considerable difficulties.
The genus of river ducks also includes their smallest representatives - teals. There are 4 species of teal in Russia, which differ significantly from each other. These are the teal-whistle (teal, small teal), teal-crackle (khra-punk, shirkunok, large teal, blue-winged teal, teal-crake), teal-kloktun (moklok, gaganok, ma-radushka) and marbled, or narrow-nosed, teal.
Teal
The first two types of teal are the most common and are found almost everywhere. The kloktun nests only in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, and the marbled teal nests in the southern regions of the country, not rising above the Lower Volga region. The largest teal is the kloktun, reaching a weight of 600 grams, the cod and marbled teal are somewhat smaller. Their female whistling ducks are somewhat darker than the kloktuna and gadder ducks. The marbled teal duck, like the drake, which does not wear breeding plumage, is gray with light spots; their plumage resembles marble, which is why this teal got its name.
The whistling drake in its nuptial plumage is very beautiful. Its head and upper neck are reddish-brown, its chin and upper throat are black. On the sides of the head there are wide bluish-green stripes with a copper-red tint, connecting at the back of the head. The edges of these stripes are bordered by a narrow white stripe, which continues from the eyes along the base of the beak to the chin. The belly is light, buffy, the undertail is light gray. The rump is brownish-gray, bordered by a black velvety stripe. It has large teardrop-shaped black spots on its chest and crop. The mirror is bright green and shiny. The beak is black, the paws are gray. The codling drake in breeding plumage has a dark brown upper part of the head, with small white streaks on the forehead. The neck and sides of the head are chocolate-colored, with white streaks, and the chin is black. A wide white stripe runs from the eyes to the back of the head and further down the neck. The crop and the front part of the chest are brown, with a scaly pattern and transverse stripes. The chest and belly are white. The upper coverts of the wings are bluish-gray, the mirror is greenish-steel in color, with a white bordering stripe. The beak is black, the paws are gray, the lining of the wings is white. The kloktui drake in breeding plumage has black feathers on the top of its head, chin and throat. There is also a black stripe from the eyes to the throat, which then passes to the back of the neck and down into wide spots of bright green in the shape of crescents. They are bordered on the top and sides by narrow white stripes. The sides of the head, cheeks, feathers near the beak and part of the neck are pale buffy. The base of the neck at the back and the shoulders are slate, with streaky stripes. The back and rump are gray, also with streaky stripes, the sides are bluish with a black streaky pattern. White transverse stripes are clearly visible at the base of the wings. The crop and upper chest are pinkish-wine, covered with semicircular black spots, the belly is white, the undertail is velvety black, with transverse white stripes at the base. The wing coverts are whitish. The mirror is green, shiny, on a black background, with white stripes on the outside. The beak is bluish, the paws are brownish-olive.
Teal immediately after arriving from wintering begin nesting. In the spring, hunters often manage to observe the flights of a gadder duck, excitedly pursued by several drakes. Sometimes wadder drakes just as enthusiastically pursue females of other ducks, INCLUDING mallards, so they willingly sit next to decoy ducks and various stuffed animals. Teal nests are made near a pond, in thickets. Ducklings grow quickly and, as a rule, take wing by the beginning of the hunting season. The exception is kloktuns, whose ducklings develop more slowly. Often, at the beginning of the hunt, flightless broods of these teals are encountered.
Teal feed on both plant and animal food. By autumn they become very fat, and closer to departure they gather in large flocks. Teal swim and dive well, fly quickly and easily. Whistling ducks are especially good flyers, their flight speed exceeds that of other river ducks. I witnessed a goshawk chasing a pair of teal. The predator was already catching up with the ducks, but they managed to fly to the wide reach near which I was, and, falling onto the water, instantly dived and disappeared. The accelerating hawk crashed into the water and was shot by me. Due to their speed of flight, teals are rightly considered a real sporting game. Teal meat is better in taste than mallard duck meat. The voices of teal ducks resemble gentle quacks. The whistling drake whistles melodiously, the crackling drake crackles, reminiscent of the voice of a current corncrake, the kloktun cackles dully, making the sounds “klo-klo-klo”. Narrow-nosed teals are the most silent, their voices are weaker than those of other teals. These teals are the most trusting and easier than others to allow the hunter to shoot.
Red-nosed Pochard, or Red Pochard
This is one of our most common diving ducks, nesting mainly in the southeastern regions of the country, in Central Asia and in the Ural coastal zone of the Caspian Sea. Found in nesting grounds in the lower reaches of the Kuban, in the North Caucasus and in some areas of Transcaucasia. On migration it can be seen both in Siberia and in the central and western regions of the European part of Russia. Winters in our country in the southeastern regions, as well as in southern Europe, East Asia and North Africa.
The plumage of the red pochard drake is dominated by brown, chestnut, ocher and black tones with white spots. His head is bright red. The female is colored in clay-brown and ash-gray tones, and is dirty white below. The male's beak is bright red with a whitish nail. The paws are also red. The female has a dark beak with a reddish tint, and red-brown paws with dark membranes. The red-nosed duck is a rather large, densely built bird, reaching a weight of up to one and a half kilograms. Red-nosed ducks fly to nesting sites in pairs. They fly away for the winter in flocks. They make their nests in lakes on the rubble of old reeds or on islands and hummocks near the water. The material used to build the nest is the stems and leaves of plants. The nest tray is surrounded on the sides by a cushion of fluff, with which the females cover the eggs. Red-nosed ducks feed mainly on plant foods, so their meat, unlike the meat of most other dives, has high taste.
The duck's voice is very loud and crackling, reminiscent of the sounds of "kerr-kerr-kerr". The drake usually gives a voice - a quiet whistle - only in the spring. Due to its large weight, attractive appearance and high quality meat, the red-nosed duck is very highly valued by hunters. The red-headed duck, locally called blue duck, sivash and red-headed duck, is one of the most interesting diving ducks from a hunting point of view.
It is widespread in our country. The nesting grounds are observed in the Baltic republics, in Belarus, in the Leningrad and Pskov regions, in Bashkiria, in Ukraine, in the lower reaches of the Kama, on Siberian rivers, in the lowlands of the Syrdarya and Amu Darya rivers, on the Aral Sea, in the Lower in the Volga region and in some areas of the Far East. It is also found on Lake Onega, the Red-headed Pochard in the Northern Dvina basin, in Yakutia and Kamchatka. The red-headed duck overwinters both outside our country and on the Black, Caspian and Azov seas, at the mouth of the Kuban, in southeastern Transcaucasia, on the lakes of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. The red-headed duck is a medium-sized duck with a very dense body and a short neck. Its weight, depending on the season and the degree of fatness, ranges from 700 to 1300 grams.
The drake in its nuptial plumage is colored quite differently. Its head and neck are rusty-red, sometimes with a reddish-purple tint. The craw, chest and shoulders are black, the back is ash-gray, with transverse streaky stripes. Closer to the tail, the back gradually darkens, the rump and undertail are black. The sides and lower part of the chest are grayish, covered with distinct ripples. The belly is dark. The upper wing coverts are ash-gray. The beak is bluish, the paws are gray. The female has a yellowish-brown head, the body is reddish-brown and black-brown in different places. The neck, crop and sides are dark, rusty-red. The belly is dirty white. The beak is lead-blue, the paws are gray. The red-headed duck feeds on both plant and animal foods. Swims and dives very well. Its draft is so deep that the tail is half submerged in the water. The red-headed duck takes off from the water heavily and noisily, but flies very quickly, making loud and sharp sounds with its wings.
The duck walks poorly on the ground, raising the front part of its body high. His voice is hoarse and croaking. During complete molting, red-headed ducks lose the ability to fly and, together with other ducks, become very large. Red-headed ducks nest on large lakes with dense thickets and wide reaches. Nests are made in reed creases and thickets; sometimes the nests are floating, like those of coots. Ducklings spend the first day of their lives in the nest, and then leave it together with the queen. By the age of one month they fledge, but begin to fly closer to two months. Grown-up broods of red-headed ducks unite in flocks and lead a nomadic lifestyle. Red-headed ducks, due to their large numbers, wide distribution, fairly large size, good quality meat and fast flight, are an excellent object of hunting.
Along with the red-headed ducks, the genus also includes the white-eyed ducks, Bar's ducks, tufted ducks and sea ducks. White-eyed Pochard. In some places it is called white-eye and black-eye. A medium-sized duck, weighing 500-600 grams. The drake in breeding plumage has part of the neck, crop and front part of the chest reddish-chestnut with a violet tint. There is a black ring at the base of the neck, the back of the neck, shoulders, back and rump are black. There are white spots on the chin, the middle of the chest and the undertail are white. The sides are reddish-brown. The belly is blackish-red, mottled with small white speckles. Coverts and tail feathers of the wing are blackish-brown. The beak is bluish-black. Paws are gray, eyes are white. The female’s head is also reddish-chestnut, but somewhat paler than that of the male, and the ring on the neck is gray-brown. The rest of the female's plumage is dominated by dark brown, gray-brown, reddish-brown and grayish tones. There are large dark spots on the chest. The beak is dark, the legs are greenish-gray. The voice of the white-eyed duck is rough and croaking. In our country, the white-eyed duck nests mainly in Turkmenistan, on the eastern shore of the Aral Sea, in the middle reaches of the Syr Darya and in Semirechye, and less often along the lower reaches of the Dnieper. Individual nesting sites were observed in some areas of Ukraine, Belarus, Siberia and in the central regions of the country. It winters outside Russia and only partially in Eastern Transcaucasia, on the southeastern shore of the Caspian Sea and in the upper reaches of the Amu Darya.
During the spring and autumn migrations, the white-eyed duck is found almost everywhere. For nesting, white-eyed ducks prefer deep lakes overgrown with reeds; They do not avoid the wide floodplains of southern rivers; they are sometimes found on mountain lakes. Nests are made on floating reed fists, as well as on islands and individual hummocks located among reed thickets. Young ducks begin to fly at about two months of age. The diet of the white-eyed duck has not been studied enough. It is known that its food mainly consists of leaves, roots and seeds of aquatic plants, with a small addition of animal feed. The white-eyed duckling I kept in captivity, caught by a duckling, willingly ate bread, all kinds of greens, grains of rye, oats, wheat, earthworms and meat. In terms of behavior, white-eyed ducks are in many ways similar to real ducks. The white-eyed duck swims well and dives well, but it is difficult to rise from the water.
Bar's Dive
Bar's Dive. Also called the eastern white-eye pochard. Its color is dominated by black and reddish-brown tones of various shades. It has large white mirrors on its wings, which are clearly visible both in swimming birds and in flight.
In our country, Baer's pochards nest only in the southern regions of the Far East, on small lakes overgrown with reeds. The meat of these dives has a noticeable fishy smell.
Tufted duck
Tufted Duck. Also called blackling, nigella, white-sided, herbal and sea black. Quite a large and dense duck, weighing from 700 to 1400 grams. The plumage of the drake is dominated by black tones with a metallic sheen. The sides and lower part of the body, as well as the lining of the wings, are pure white. White speckling is also observed on the wing coverts. The beak is grayish-blue, with a black nail. The paws are gray with black membranes, the eyes are yellow. On the head, elongated feathers form a crest hanging from the back of the head. In the female, brown tones of varying brightness predominate. The abdominal part of the body is white, speckled with brown feathers.
Found at nesting sites in the Middle Volga region, Bashkiria, Northern Kazakhstan, Trans-Urals and Western Siberia. In spring, birds arrive already in pairs. They nest in wide floodplains of rivers and lakes, in reed thickets and on small islands. Nests are often built floating, and sometimes in tree hollows. From the very first day of their life, tufted ducklings swim nimbly and dive skillfully. They can stay underwater for up to 40 seconds. Blackheads rise from the water heavily and noisily. The duck's voice resembles a hoarse croak. The drake is more silent. His voice sounds like a melodic “glu-glu”. Tufted ducks feed mainly on animal food, obtaining it underwater at a depth of 3-4 meters. One interesting feature is observed in the behavior of the tufted duck: it is not afraid of human proximity and nests near his home. It would be useful to make wider use of this feature of the tufted duck and populate large bodies of water located around large cities with it.
Sea blackfish
Sea sage, sometimes called sable, white-sided and spiny. Quite a large duck, slightly larger in size than the Tufted Duck. The drake has a black head, chest and back of the body, a light gray back, and a white belly and sides. The female is brownish-brown, has a white ring at the base of her beak, and a white spot on the sides of her head. White feathers are also found on other parts of the body. The sea duck nests along the northern border of our country, mainly in the tundra. It is found in small numbers in the breeding grounds in Estonia. The voice of the sea sable resembles a loud croak. It swims and dives well, flies quickly and, unlike other dives, easily rises from the water. The sea duck feeds on both animal and plant food, obtaining it mainly under the cavity. The sea duck prefers to nest on flowing tundra lakes with rich vegetation, as well as on lakes in the taiga. During molting, it stays on large lakes with wide open reaches. Winters mainly at sea, sometimes flying into bays and river mouths. The sea duck breaks up into pairs during the winter. It usually builds nests in sedge thickets near water or in willow thickets. Ducklings grow quickly and at the age of 35-40 days they are already able to fly. The meat of sea duck is of very high quality, so commercial hunting for this duck is widely developed.
Gogol ordinary
In some places it is called the hollow bird because of its love of nesting in the hollows of trees. The duck is medium-sized, its weight ranges from 800 to 1400 grams. A drake in breeding plumage has a black head with a metallic sheen, and round white spots on its cheeks. The back, sides, neck, belly, rump and undertail are pure white, with the exception of a narrow black bar near the rump. The wing is covered with white, black, brown and gray feathers. The mirror is white. The tail feathers are black-brown, the beak is black, the legs are orange, and the eyes are reddish-yellow. In summer plumage, the drake is colored almost the same as a duck, whose head and part of the neck are dark brown, the back is dark with light feather edges. The crop and sides are slate-gray. The chest, belly and undertail are white. The mirror is also white. White feathers predominate on the wings, interspersed with black, brown-black, gray and dark slate. The beak is black, the paws are yellow with dark membranes. The eyes are yellow. Gogol's voice resembles a hoarse croak. In flight, it makes a clear and high, “crystal” sound with its wings, by which it can easily be distinguished from other ducks even in the dark. The goldeneye feeds primarily on animal food with a small addition of plant foods.
Gogol is an excellent swimmer and excellent diver. It almost always finds food under water, sometimes at a depth of up to 4 meters. The nesting areas of the goldeneye in our country are the northern regions from the Kola Peninsula and the north of the Arkhangelsk region (including the middle Urals, the Ob and Yenisei rivers) all the way to Kamchatka. The goldeneye winters mainly within our country. Mass wintering of goldeneye can be observed off the coast of the southern Caspian Sea, in smaller numbers - on the Black Sea, in Ukraine, in the Southern Urals and Altai. Goldeneyes make their nests in hollows of trees growing along the banks of reservoirs, and in addition, they willingly populate artificial hollows and nest boxes, which are hung on trees or installed on long poles in hunting grounds on the eve of the birds’ arrival. The proximity to humans does not frighten goldeneyes.
If there are not enough hollows in the nesting areas, fights occur between female goldeneyes for possession of the nest. Often two ducks rush in one hollow at once. Cases of common nesting in a hollow were also observed between goldeneye and lutkom, goldeneye and mallard, as well as goldeneye and merganser. In these cases, there were sometimes up to thirty eggs in the nest, most of which the brooding duck could not warm up, and the chicks did not hatch from them. The chicks hatch from the eggs within 2-3 hours and remain in the nest for the first 24 hours, drying out under the duck and lubricating their downy outfit with fat. After a day, the ducklings, with sharp and strongly curved claws, freely crawl out of the hollow, even from the deepest, and at the mother’s call they easily jump down to the ground. Such a fall, sometimes from a height of more than 10 meters, is completely harmless to ducklings due to their small stature and light weight. When all the ducklings jump to the ground, the mother leads them to sheltered areas of the pond. Ducklings are excellent swimmers and excellent divers: they can stay under water for up to two minutes. At about two months of age, goldeneyes begin to fly.
Kamenushka
A small duck weighing 500-800 grams. The drake in its nuptial plumage is colored very differently. His head and neck are black and matte. On the sides of the head, from the base of the beak and almost to the eyes, there are vertical white spots, which run from above in a narrow strip along the crown to the back of the head. There are two more small white spots on the head behind the eyes and an oblong one on the back of the neck. On the sides of the head, below the white spots, there are small rusty-brown stripes. At the base of the neck is a full white necklace, bordered at the bottom by a narrow black stripe. The back and rump of the stone-wheat are black. The top, sides and chest are slate blue. The back of the chest is gray, the belly is black-brown, the undertail is blackish, with small white spots on the sides. The sides of the body are chestnut; at the bend of the wing there is a small white transverse spot bordered with black stripes. The shoulder feathers are white. The mirror is shiny, black and blue. The tail is black, the beak is dark olive with a light nail. Paws are black-brown with black membranes. The eyes are brown. The duck's plumage is dominated by dark brown colors with an olive tint. There are three white spots on the sides of the head, the lower part of the body is whitish, with small and indistinct brown spots. The wings and tail are black and brown. The beak and paws are brownish-gray. In the drake's summer plumage after molting, blackish-brown tones predominate.
Kamenushka nests exclusively in the northern regions of Siberia, and its nesting range in the west extends to the Lena River basin and Baikal, in the north it reaches the Arctic Circle, in the south to Primorye, and in the east to Kamchatka and the Commander Islands. During the nesting period, in summer, stone moths live mainly in mountain rivers and lakes. They winter at sea near rocky shores. Molting birds gather in large bodies of water, including the sea. Stonewheats arrive at their nesting sites having already split into pairs. They fly to winter grounds and spend the winter in large flocks. Ducks build nests close to water, among stones, in grass or in bushes. Ducklings develop rather slowly and rise to the wing relatively late. Wheatears feed on animal food: insects, crustaceans, mollusks and a small amount of fish. The Kamenushka is a rather trusting bird and allows people to come within close range.
Sailor
This is an extremely interesting dive, which is sometimes called auleika, sauk and white-headed duck. The long-tailed duck's appearance differs sharply from other diving ducks; it has a very long tail, this is especially noticeable in drakes. In addition, birds change their plumage three times a year. The drake in winter plumage has a white top of the head, a wide ring around the eyes, chin, throat and neck. The sides of the head are smoky-gray, closer to the back of the head there are large black-brown spots, gradually turning into chestnut. The back and undertail are black, the shoulder feathers are bluish-gray, and the sides are gray. The forechest is black-brown, the underparts are white, the wing coverts and middle tail feathers are black-brown. The beak is black, with a pinkish or orange band at the top, the paws are bluish-gray, and the eyes are red. In the breeding plumage, the drake has more white feathers on the head, and the throat, neck and crop are dark brown. In summer plumage, the drake's head is much darker than in winter or during the mating season, and the entire plumage is less contrasting than in winter and spring. The female in summer is a rather uniform dark color, with greyish-brown sides. In winter, her head and neck are mostly white, with black-brown feathers on the top of her head and the lower parts of her cheeks. A narrow rusty-brown stripe runs across the crop. During the nesting period, the head and neck of ducks are blackish, and the crop is grayish-brown.
The long-tailed duck is not a large duck; its weight, depending on the degree of fatness, ranges from 600 to 800 grams, sometimes slightly more. At nesting grounds, long-tailed duck is found in the tundra zone of the European and Savka Asian parts of Russia, on the islands of the Novosibirsk archipelago, on the Chukotka Peninsula, and is sometimes found in Northern Sakhalin, in the northern part of Baikal and in some lakes of the Trans-Urals. Long-tailed ducks nest mainly in tundra lakes and mountain lakes. Overwinters and molts in the seas. On migration it lives in huge flocks, often reaching tens of thousands of pieces. The long-tailed duck feeds mainly on animal food: insect larvae, crustaceans, mollusks and small fish. Ducklings also eat plant foods. The nest is made in a dry place, not far from water, usually under the cover of a willow tree, sometimes among sedges. The ducks sit so tightly in the nest that they allow themselves to be picked up by their hands. Ducklings develop slowly; in the first days they swim little and stay close to the nest. Often, two broods of long-tailed ducks join together in a common group with two starks. If a duck dies, the ducklings usually join someone else's brood.
The long-tailed duck flies quickly, swims well and dives well, and loves to gather in large flocks. As a game bird in the north, long-tailed duck undoubtedly ranks first among ducks. Hunters shoot long-tailed ducks mainly on the fly.
This duck is also called blue-nosed or white-eyed duck. It is medium in size, its weight ranges from 500 to 800 grams. Its appearance is sharply different from other ducks, especially with its multi-stage tail, vertically raised upward, and a large head with a peculiar beak. The drake in breeding plumage has a white head, with a black cap on the crown of the head and a black collar. The body feathers are grayish-brown, rusty-brown, brown and light buffy, in places speckled with black and gray transverse stripes. The tail is almost black, there is no mirror on the wings. The beak is sky blue, the paws are reddish-gray with dark membranes and joints, and the eyes are bright yellow. The top of the duck's head and cheeks are dark brown. From the base of the beak under the eyes to the back of the head there runs a fairly wide light stripe, speckled with brown spots. The upper part of the body is light, yellowish-brown, covered with transverse stripes. The chin and top of the throat are almost white. The sides and neck are whitish, the lower part of the body is dirty whitish-yellow, covered with gray spots and transverse stripes. The beak is dark, the paws are gray with a slight bluish tint, the eyes are light yellow.
Ducks nest exclusively in arid steppes and deserts. Basically, the nesting area of this bird in our country runs along the steppes of the Caspian Sea and the Lower Volga region to Volgograd, along the Volga and Ural sands and along the middle reaches of the Urals. Ducks also nest in the Volga region, in Bashkiria, on steppe lakes in the Chelyabinsk region, in Kazakhstan, in Siberia, on lakes in northern and southwestern Tajikistan, right up to the border with Iran and Afghanistan, as well as in mountainous Armenia near Lake Sevan. Duck nests were also observed in the upper reaches of the Yenisei. White-headed ducks winter mainly outside our country on large open lakes or in sea bays. In our wintering grounds they were observed off the south-eastern coast of the Caspian Sea. For nesting, ducks prefer steppe lakes, especially brackish ones, with reed thickets, underwater vegetation and open reaches. During migration they are found in a wide variety of water bodies, including mountain rivers. White-necked ducks usually arrive at nesting sites in April, although they begin nesting much later - from the end of May and even in June. Nests are made in reed thickets, often using old nests of coots and white-eyed ducks.
Often the nests are floating. Duck eggs are very large, dirty white in color; As a rule, there are no more than six of them in a clutch. It is extremely difficult to catch a brooding duck on the nest. There was an assumption that in order to hatch ducklings, the eggs of the warbler need to be incubated only during the first few days, and then the embryos develop independently. An experiment carried out near Astrakhan on brooded duck eggs taken from a nest confirmed this assumption. The eggs taken from the nest were laid in the room, and without any additional warming, ducklings hatched from them a week later. The duck's diet consists mainly of plant foods: leaves and seeds of aquatic plants, as well as crustaceans and mollusks. Ducks move on land with great difficulty and usually spend all their time on the water, swimming and diving excellently.
Among diving ducks, four representatives of the scoter genus stand out. These are large sea ducks, the plumage of which is dominated by black, brown and gray tones with white feathers on certain parts of the body and head. The largest of these ducks is the black scoter, which is sometimes called svirok, scoter, tulip, black duck, black duck and bunt. The weight of a drake often exceeds 1700 grams.
Slightly smaller (weight 1500 grams) is the humpbacked scoter, also called the seine scoter, which differs from other representatives of the genus in that it has a highly developed growth (hump) at the base of the beak. The bluebird, which due to the black color of the drake is sometimes called the black duck and the Pacific blue, as well as the black duck and the whistler, reaches a weight of 1600 grams. Within our country, the black scoter nests on the coast of Estonia, in the forest zone of the Murmansk region, in North Karelia, in the northern part of Lake Ladoga, near Arkhangelsk, on the Kanin Peninsula, on the Yenisei, in southern Taimyr, in the Trans-Urals, in Western Siberia, near Tyumen , on large lakes near Tobolsk, in Northern Kazakhstan.
Ducklings grow and develop quite slowly. Black scoters spend the winter in the seas, including the Baltic and Caspian, as well as in the inland waters of Central Asia. The humpbacked scoter nests in the Yenisei basin and further east, including Kamchatka. It is most numerous in its nesting grounds in the forested lake part of Yakutia. Winters off the coast of the Far Eastern seas, especially often observed off the coast of southern and southeastern Kamchatka. Singa is found nesting in the northern regions of the country; it is especially numerous east of Murmansk and Karelia to the Khatanga and Lena watershed.
It also winters in the sea, most often in the Baltic. The nesting range of the Pacific blue fin is limited to forest and tundra lakes in the northeastern regions of the Asian part of the country. During the nesting period it is most numerous in Kamchatka. Spends the winter, like other scoters, on the seas, in the Pacific Ocean. All scoters swim and dive beautifully. They feed mainly on animal food, including fish. In some places, commercial hunting for scoters, especially blue scoter, is widespread.
Hunters shoot scoters mainly during migration, during which these birds appear in many areas of the country. I have had the opportunity to meet black scoters and blue scoters more than once during their autumn migration to the Rybinsk Sea.
Ducks belonging to the genus of mergansers differ sharply from all other ducks in the structure of their beaks. Their beak is narrow, very elongated, ends in a hook-shaped nail bent down, and is equipped with sharp horny teeth along the edges. Reminds me of a cormorant's beak.
The objects of duck hunting in our country are three species of mergansers: the large merganser, sometimes called the cormorant-duck, red-bellied, bison and great sharp; the long-nosed or medium-sized merganser, also called merganser and lesser merganser, and the lout, which is sometimes called sharp. All mergansers differ significantly in size and color of plumage. The large merganser is a large duck, up to 2 kilograms, the weight of the long-nosed merganser does not exceed 1300 grams, and the smallest one, Lutok, weighs from 500 to 800 grams. The Lutka drake in breeding plumage is almost completely white, while the duck is mainly covered with reddish-brown, dark gray and brown feathers. In the drake merganser, the mating feathers are dominated by black, sometimes with a green metallic tint, white and reddish-orange tones; ducks are reddish-brown, gray in different shades and whitish.
Long-nosed Merganser
A drake in breeding plumage has a black head with a metallic tint, black shoulders and upper back, a white neck with a black stripe on the back, dark gray lower back, sides and rump, and a reddish Long-nosed, or medium-sized, merganser crop. The females are dominant in plumage. reddish-chestnut, brownish-gray, gray and white tones. In the drake and the long-nosed merganser duck, the feathers on the head form a pronounced crest, a white crest adorns the head of the drake lutka, and in the great merganser only the female has a wide crest on the head, while in the drake the feathers on the head are only slightly elongated.
Great merganser
This type of duck is widespread in our country; it is especially numerous on the Kola Peninsula, in the Urals, in the Cis-Urals, Altai, in the Sayans, on Lake Baikal and in other, mainly northern and eastern, regions. Found everywhere on migration. The great merganser nests on lakes and rivers with clear water. Its main food is fish. It makes nests near water in hollow trees, in old abandoned buildings, in stone ruins, and less often on the ground in bushes. Great mergansers spend the winter mainly outside Russia. In our country, wintering grounds are observed on the Sea of Azov, on the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, on Kamchatka, on the Kuril Islands and off the coast of Primorye. The long-nosed merganser is less common in our country than the great merganser. It nests in the northern regions - from Murmansk and Karelia to Kamchatka. Some of its breeding colonies are found on the Black Sea and in Armenia (on Lake Sevan). In wintering grounds it is found off the coast of Crimea and the Caucasus, in Kamchatka, on the Commander and Kuril Islands. Lutok nests quite widely in the forest zone of both the European and Asian parts of Russia. Some nesting sites of the Lutka are found in the lower reaches of the Dnieper. It winters in the Black and Azov Seas, on the rivers of Ukraine and Central Asia. All three species of mergansers feed on animal food, mainly fish. Their meat therefore has an unpleasant odor. Hunters shoot these birds on migration and while hunting other waterfowl.
We will end the description of wild ducks with a story about three species that stand somewhat apart from both river and diving ducks. Although these ducks are rarely hunted, they are very interesting birds in their appearance and way of life, and it is useful for every amateur hunter to know them.
Ogar
Also called red duck, varnava or warnavka, scoter (incorrectly), thawing or atayka. The Ogar is a fairly large duck with high legs located closer to the front of the body than those of dabbling and diving ducks. Thanks to this, the red duck moves on the ground much more freely than other ducks. The weight of the cinder ranges from 1200 to 1600 grams.
The drake is colored in brownish-red tones. It has a full black ring (collar) on its neck, which disappears after the summer moult. On the back of the drake's back there are small transverse stripes. The undertail, tail and primary flight feathers are black. The upper wing coverts are white. The beak and paws are blackish, the eyes are black-brown. The duck differs from the drake in the absence of a black collar and lighter tones of color throughout the plumage.
In Russia, fires are quite widespread. Their breeding range includes Central Kazakhstan, Semirechye, Tuva Autonomous Region, Transbaikalia, southern Turkmenistan, Armenia, the steppe strip from the Terek to the Volga and some areas of Siberia. Ogars are less common at nesting sites in the Kuban delta, between the Don and Volga, in the middle reaches of the Urals, in the Ishim steppe and in some other areas. The gorse nests on lakes and rivers, preferring hilly areas and avoiding overgrown reservoirs. Loves salt lakes and mountain reservoirs. Winters mainly in Africa and South Asia. In our country, the wintering grounds of the red duck are found in the southeastern Transcaucasia, in the lowlands of Artek and in other regions of Turkmenistan, as well as in small numbers in southern Tajikistan.
In the fall, before leaving for the winter, the firecracker often gathers in large flocks on salt lakes. It usually flies to nesting sites in pairs. Scorches make nests in the burrows of various steppe animals (foxes, badgers, wild cats), in old burial grounds, in abandoned buildings, and sometimes even in barns and attics of residential buildings. In the lower reaches of the Volga, red ducks dig rather long holes in clay cliffs. Sometimes there are also open nests. In Siberia, nests of scorches were found in tree hollows at a height of up to 10 meters from the ground. In the literature there is a description of nests of scorches located in the burrows of residential burrows of foxes. It is believed that such a strange neighborhood ended happily for the red duck only thanks to its loud hissing during incubation, which resembles the hissing of a large snake.
The eggs of the scorch are quite large, ivory-colored. It is believed that the drake also takes part in their incubation. Ducklings develop quickly, run, swim and dive perfectly. Having sharp claws, they quite easily climb to a height of up to a meter, from where they freely jump. Both parents take part in caring for the offspring. They very jealously protect the ducklings and stay with them until the young ones take wing. When danger appears, the duck takes the brood into the thickets, and the drake boldly swoops down on the enemy, sometimes very dangerous. Cases of attacks by male scorched eagle even on white-tailed eagles have been observed. Red ducks feed on both animal and plant foods. Red ducks, unless persecuted, are fairly trusting birds. When caught young, they quickly get used to humans, tolerate captivity well and become completely tame. Previously, in Bulgaria, the Ogar was bred as poultry. It would be useful to tame the red duck in our country, especially since, due to its exceptional endurance, it can be used for hybridization with domestic ducks.
Shelduck
In some places also called the blump duck and merganser. This is a large anseriform duck, reaching a weight of up to one and a half kilograms or more. The drake in breeding plumage is very elegantly colored. Its head and neck are black, with a metallic tint, the base of the neck and crop are white. A wide stripe of deep chestnut color runs across the chest and sides, which connects at the back. The shoulder feathers are black, and all other parts of the body are white. A wide black stripe also runs from the middle of the chest along the stomach; the undertail is light chestnut. The flight feathers of the wing are black, the mirror is dark green. The beak is bright red, has a wide leathery growth on top, at the base. The beak nail is dark, the legs are pink, and the eyes are red-brown. In summer, the molted drake has a brownish head and neck. The chestnut stripe on the chest is interspersed with white feathers with brown edges. The black stripe on the lower part of the body almost completely disappears. The duck is colored similarly to the drake, but all its tones are lighter and not so bright, and the stripe on the lower part of the body is not black, but dark brown with white streaks. There is no growth at the base of the beak.
In our country, the shelduck occupies a fairly extensive nesting area. At nesting sites, it is found in the coastal zone of Moldova and Ukraine, in the steppe part of Crimea, in the Azov region, in the steppe Ciscaucasia, in the Caspian steppes and along the western shore of the Caspian Sea up to the steppes of southeastern Transcaucasia. It also nests in Armenia, in the Volga region, in the Volga and Ural steppes, along the Ural River, in the Kustanai region and other regions of Kazakhstan. The shelduck winters mainly outside Russia. Here it can be found in Turkmenistan on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Shelducks nest mainly in brackish lakes, and they prefer places near which there are sandy mounds or stone deposits. In some places in the Baltics, shelducks nest near sea bays. They arrive at the nesting sites having already split into pairs. Just like sardines, shelducks make their nests in the burrows of various animals, in old burial grounds and in abandoned buildings. Less commonly, shelducks make open nests among reeds and bushes. It is difficult to determine the number of eggs in a clutch, since several ducks often lay eggs in one nest. The eggs of shelducks are large, creamy white, sometimes with a slight olive tint. Leaving the nest, the shelduck covers the eggs with down, abundantly covering the nest tray. The duck does not leave the nest for the last two days before the chicks hatch. During incubation, the drakes stay close to the nest and protect it from various predators. Ducklings hatched from eggs run well and leave the nest on their own. Then the parents lead them to the pond, sometimes covering quite a considerable distance. During such a journey, the duck is in front of the brood, and the drake either brings up the rear or walks to the side, guarding its offspring. If several broods of shelducks gather on one reservoir, fights occur between the males, as a result of which the defeated are expelled from the reservoir, and the ducklings with the queen join the winner’s brood. Ducklings grow quite quickly and by the age of two months they have completely completed their development. The drake usually leaves the brood before the duck. Shelducks, like other ducks, molt twice a year, but their full summer molt often immediately passes into the second, prenuptial molt.
Shelducks feed mainly on animal feed, mainly crustaceans and insect larvae. From plant foods, they readily eat various algae. Shelducks walk well on the ground, swim freely and quickly, but only ducklings dive. The flight of shelducks resembles the flight of geese; on spans they usually line up in a wedge. The shelduck's voice is a dull and soft cackle. During mating games, the drake whistles.
Mandarin duck
This small duck, whose weight ranges from 500 to 600 grams, is also called the Japanese duck and the hollow duck. The drake in his wedding attire is dressed very beautifully. It has a green crop and crown with bright purple stripes. The back of the head and the large crest on top are copper-red. The rest of the crest is shiny, blue-green. The front of the head is fawn-red. The cheeks, chin and neck are bright red. A gradually narrowing white stripe runs from the eye to the back of the head. The upper body is dark olive in color, with greenish and brown tints in places. The front of the neck below and part of the crop are shiny, copper-red. On the sides of the chest there are three black and three white arched stripes. The sides of the body are gray-green, mottled with black and grayish-white transverse streaky stripes.
The underside of the body is white. The wing coverts are olive-brown. The primary flight feathers are of the same color, but they have a silvery rim along the outer edge, and shiny green tips on the inner webs. The mirror is green and shiny. The beak is bright red, the paws are yellow, the eyes are dark brown. The top of the female is slate-gray, and the sides of the head and neck are light gray. There is a white spot at the base of the beak. The white ring runs around the eye and goes to the back of the head as a narrow white stripe. The upper part of the body is olive-brown, the crop, the front and sides of the body are brown, covered with whitish-olive spots. The lower part of the body is white, the wings are olive-brown, the mirror is shiny, green, with a white stripe. The beak is brownish, with an orange claw. The paws are dirty yellow. On the head is a large crest, somewhat smaller in size than the drake's crest.
In our country, the mandarin duck nests along the middle and lower reaches of the Amur, in the Ussuri region, and in summer it is found on Sakhalin. The main nesting area of the mandarin duck is in Japan and on the island of Taiwan. The mandarin duck winters in Japan and Southern China. For nesting, it chooses forest rivers with islands and channels, forest lakes with banks overgrown with vines. In the taiga zone, birds prefer to nest in the floodplains of large rivers. They arrive at the nesting site in pairs.
Mandarin duck nests are usually made in hollows of trees growing along the banks of a reservoir, sometimes at high altitudes, and sometimes even close to the ground. During the nesting period, they often sit on tree branches and examine the trunks in search of a suitable hollow. A brooding duck sits on the nest so tightly that it does not leave it even in immediate danger. The ducklings, hatched from the eggs, independently jump out of the hollow onto the ground and, together with the queen, go to the pond, in which they swim nimbly and dive well. Broods feed in the mornings and evenings, swimming out to open reaches to do this. During molting, drakes gather in large flocks and stay in willow thickets. Mandarin ducks feed on both animal and plant foods. They readily eat various seeds, acorns, grains of rice, and young shoots of cereals. Among animal foods, they prefer insects, including beetles, snails, and small fish.
In August and September, mandarin ducks, joining in small flocks, make regular flights to fields sown with rice, buckwheat and other crops. The flight of mandarin ducks is fast and very maneuverable. From the ground and from the water they rise freely, almost vertically. In China and Japan, this species has been domesticated and bred as an ornamental bird.