HUNTING HORIZONS - Worldwide Hunting Seasons Database

The Ruddy Shelduck, [Tadorna ferruginea], has its main breeding area from south east Europe across central Asia to southeast China. These birds are mostly migratory, wintering in southern Asia. There are very small resident populations of this species in North West Africa and Ethiopia. Although becoming quite rare in southeast Europe and southern Spain, the Ruddy Shelduck is still common across much of its Asian range. It may be this population which gives rise to vagrants as far west as Iceland and Great Britain.
LENGTH: 58-70 cm WEIGHT: 1.0-1.6 kg WINGSPAN: 110-135 cm
The sexes of this striking species are similar, it has orange-brown body plumage and a paler almost white head; wings are white with black flight feathers.
MALE: The male has a black ring at the bottom of the neck in the breeding season.
FEMALE: In the breeding season the female often has a white face patch.
JUVENILE: Paler, white head, sooty-tinged upper wing coverts.
HABITAT: This species frequents the shores of inland freshwater, saline and brackish lakes and rivers in open country, particularly those in open steppe, upland plateau and mountainous regions; less dependent upon large water bodies for resting and feeding it often occurs a considerable distance from water during the breeding season.
In the non-breeding season this species prefers streams, slow-flowing rivers, freshwater pools, flooded grasslands, marshes and brackish or saline lakes in lowland regions. It avoids coastal waters and tall, dense vegetation or emergent and floating aquatic plants.
FEEDING: Omnivorous, its' diet consists of shoots, seeds, grains, shrimps, insects, molluscs, small fish, frogs, amphibian spawn and worms.
CALL: The call is a loud wild honking.
FLIGHT: In flight the startlingly neat black and white wing pattern is also characteristic, in flight looks heavy, more like a goose than a duck.