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Photo by Paul Sansom
Female and male.

Anas platyrhynchos

[edit] Identification

Drake

• Green head separated from a brown breast by a white ring.
• Yellow bill.
• Curly central tail feathers.
  

Female

• Streaked brown body
• Brown bill with a variable amount of orange around the edge

Both have a white-edged blue speculum
Eclipse male resembles female, but retains yellow bill

[edit] Distribution

The most abundant and widespread duck in the region breeding throughout Europe from Iceland and northern Scandinavia south to the Mediterranean, on some Mediterranean islands and throughout Turkey. Rare and local breeder in North-West Africa and Cyprus.

Resident or partial migrant in Iceland, the British Isles and Continental Europe from Spain east to the Baltic States and south to Greece and Turkey. Summer visitor to much of Scandinavia and Russia.

Vagrant north to Svalbard and south to the Azores where has bred.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Habitat

Virtually any kind of freshwater from small ponds on farms and in town parks up to the largest reservoirs, and also swamps and marshes.

In winter especially, also on estuaries and sometimes on sheltered seas.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

Diet includes insects, seed, roots, grain either whilst dabbling or on land.

[edit] Vocalisation

Male Quiet kwack, nasally rheb.
Female Loud traditional quack

[edit] External Links