Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) lives in coastal wetlands across Europe, Asia, Africa. It feeds on mollusks and crustaceans. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Hear the Common Shelduck
A real field recording of the Common Shelduck, made in the wild.
The common shelduck looks like a miniature goose, yet it packs a 55-65 cm body and a 100-120 cm wingspan, giving it a silhouette as broad as a small sailboat. Its bright reddish-pink bill, pink feet, white torso with chestnut patches, black belly and dark green head make it a walking splash of colour on any wetland.
Since the mid-20th century the shelduck has swapped salty coasts for inland lakes, exploding from a narrow coastal band to a presence in open freshwater wetlands. In the 1950s it barely nudged 66° N in Norway, but by 2020 it blanketed the whole Norwegian shoreline and pushed into north-western Russia, even the Murmansk area and White Sea after 2000. This northward leap, plus a surge into the Iberian Peninsula where it once only wintered, shows how protection from hunting and richer food supplies can redraw a bird's map.
When shelducks molt, they can gather in flocks as massive as 100,000 birds on the Wadden Sea, turning the coastline into a living cloud. While the adults shed feathers, most pairs abandon their semi-grown chicks in crèches tended by just one or two adults. Both parents also escort ducklings up to 3 km from the nest to feeding spots.
Shelducks wait until they're two years old before they first breed, but they can stick around for decades, with the oldest recorded individual living just shy of 20 years.
The common shelduck is covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA).
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
As the Common Shelduck glides effortlessly across the wetlands, its sleek, dark-green head and chestnut breast feathers glisten in the sunlight, a striking spectacle that belies its tranquil nature. With a gentle waddle, it navigates the muddy shores and shallow waters, its webbed feet paddling softly as it searches for aquatic delicacies to devour. In flight, the Shelduck's wings beat with a slow, powerful rhythm, carrying it gracefully over the landscape, a true marvel of evolutionary adaptation.
Advertisement
Hear the Common Shelduck, and 4,400+ more
Real recorded sounds, 11 nature games and a free Daily 5, 1v1 quiz duels, conservation wins and a safe Kids mode. Free on Feravox.
