Common shelduck

    Tadorna tadorna

Castilian: Tarro blanco

Catalan: Ànec blanc

Gallego: Pato branco

Euskera: Paita arrunta

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Anseriformes

Family: Anatidae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Near Threatened”.

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THREATS

The destruction of its habitat due to urbanisation, land clearing, deteriorating salt marshes, etc. Also, it is a bird that is sensitive to man-made structures, such as motorways, where entire broods can die.

Length / size: 58-71 cm / 100-133 cm

Identification: With generally white plumage, it has some eye-catching green tones on its head and back and an orange breast band; its legs and bill are red (males have a protuberance on their bills). In flight the white/black of the wings stands out. Juveniles lack the breast band and have a lighter colour.

Song: It has different songs: in spring, the male makes a "sleess-sleess" when pursuing females, and the females make a "gagaga" sound, and their alarm call is a "ah-ank".

Diet: It feeds on groups of insects and crustaceans that it catches above shallow bodies of water or wet grasslands.

Reproduction: It uses the burrows of other animals or natural cavities, such as caves, which gives the bird no material to use and is located far away from its feeding area. This implies a daily trip by the female to look for food, and this is dangerous for the chicks given that, shortly after hatching, they go with their parents to the breeding and development areas, where they join with other groups.

HABITAT

It occupies wet areas that are generally saltwater, although when winter arrives, it easily adapts to all types of wetlands.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It has bred in different wetlands in Andalusia, Cantabria, Castile-La Mancha, the Balearic Islands, Aragon, Catalonia, Murcia, and the Valencian Community.

In Castile and León: Wintering populations are common in Villafáfila (Zamora). European wintering specimens also come to different wetland areas, such as the La Nava lakes (Palencia), the Santa Teresa reservoirs (Salamanca), Selgas and Bárcena (León), and Voltoya and Rosarito (Ávila), among others.

Movements and migrations: When winter falls, the populations in northern Europe go to the peninsula and northern Africa.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of around 125-150 breeding pairs (2003 data).

In Castile and León: