Red-Crested Pochard
Netta rufina
Habitat
Aquatic
Diet
PlantSeed
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
1.1 kg
About This Species
This handsome diving duck favors lakes, reservoirs, and slow rivers across parts of Europe and Asia, where it dabbles and dives for aquatic plants and invertebrates, often mixing with other waterfowl. Breeding males show a striking orange-red head, red bill, and black-and-white body, making them unmistakable on open water. Winter, when birds gather in larger flocks on ice-free lakes and reservoirs, is typically the best time to see good numbers.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Viewing from a shoreline path or hide at a comfortable distance is sufficient to watch normal feeding and social behavior without causing birds to move off across the water.
- Wildfowl protections apply in many European and Asian countries within its range, though hunting seasons and specific rules differ by country, so no single standard applies everywhere.
- Avoiding sudden movements or loud noise near the water's edge helps prevent flushing resting or feeding flocks.
LCAvesAnseriformesAnatidae
Seasonal Activity
394,046 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
Traits
- Diet
- PlantSeed
- Foraging
- Aquatic
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 1.1 kg
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.