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  Profile

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  In flight

Waterfowl

Red-crested Pochard

Netta rufina

• uncommon
• 70 km/h
• Least Concern

The male's head looks like it caught fire. Red bill, pumpkin-orange crest, and a habit of dumping eggs in other birds' nests.

Population

~300,000-440,000 mature individuals (450,000-660,000 total), stable trend

Habitat

Inland deep fresh or brackish reed-fringed lakes, rivers, ponds, and saline/alkaline lagoons in open country, plus estuaries/coastal wetlands on migration and in winter

Fun fact

Red-crested Pochards seen in Britain are mostly descended from escaped or deliberately released captive waterfowl rather than natural vagrants from the species' core Eurasian range.

Range

Breeds from southern/Western Europe through the Mediterranean, Black Sea, and Central Asian steppe/semi-desert to Mongolia; winters mainly around the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Indian subcontinent, with northern populations also moving into North Africa

Diet

Mainly aquatic plants and algae (upending and shallow diving more than most diving ducks), supplemented seasonally by sedges, tape-grasses, seeds, rice, and fungus

Size

0.575 m

Wingspan

0.875 m

Lifespan

7 years