Ruddy Shelduck

Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna Ferruginea) with yellow-brown head and neck, black bill, legs, feet, tail, neck band and a gorgeous buff and orange-chestnut plumage. Ruddy Shelducks (Tadorna Ferruginea) enjoy sacred status in Tibet and Mongolia, where they are considered excellent watchdogs due to the fuss they raise when disturbed. Their saffron-colored plumage is reminiscent of the robes worn by holy men, hence the lovely ducks are also regarded as sacred in India. Their wings have black flight feathers and white shoulders and wing linings. Dark, black-green patch in secondaries. Adult female like male but has white on face, lacks black neck band, is slightly paler overall, and has pale brown edging to feathers on back. Juvenile like adult female but is light olive-grey on head and back. Their extensive range stretches from the Black Sea east to Siberia, Mongolia and China, from sea level to 17,000 feet. Quarrelsome ducks that can be dreadfully noisy, winter flocks are especially vociferous. Walking and running efficiently, they perch in trees or atop roofs in Tibet, and land like pigeons on rocky pinnacles high on forbidding mountainsides in Nepal. Shy and wary in many regions, Ruddy Shelducks (Tadorna Ferruginea) can be remarkably confiding in breeding areas, where they are traditionally not molested. Despite relatively slow and measured wingbeats, their powerful flight is rather swift, and they fly at great heights during passage. Their diet consist of plant and animal prey. The ducks are attracted to rubbish dumps and sometimes even carrion, probably to capitalize on invertebrates feeding on decaying flesh. As their nests sites they utilize burrows, sand or clay-bank holes, tree hollows up to 30 feet above the ground, rock or cliff crevices, buildings and old raptor nests often far from water. Incubating females hiss like snakes to discourage predators, and defending drakes may fly threateningly at intruders. Ducklings are said to be transport on the backs of their parents during overland treks from nests to water, and swimming adults occasionally carry young. Ruddy Shelducks (Tadorna Ferruginea) have loud, penetrating voices, though the prolonged, rather whining, high-pitches nasal whoops or honks of drakes are less intense than the deeper, harsher female notes