Ferruginous Duck
Aythya nyroca
Also known as: Ferruginous Pochard, White-Eyed Pochard, Ferruginous Nyroca
Habitat
Aquatic
Diet
PlantSeed
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
574 g
About This Species
A diving duck of shallow, well-vegetated freshwater lakes, marshes and slow rivers across Europe and Asia, favouring cover more than most ducks and often staying close to reedbeds. Deep chestnut plumage with a bright white eye and white undertail patch make drakes distinctive when they surface between dives for aquatic plants and invertebrates. Winter mornings on quiet, vegetated wetlands are the most reliable time to find one.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- As a Near Threatened species it is worth extra caution: watch from a hide or distant bank rather than walking the shoreline, and never push through waterside vegetation to get closer.
- It is protected under wildfowl and habitat regulations in much of its European range, including the EU Birds Directive, and hunting restrictions apply in many countries, so confirm local rules before any activity near a site.
- Avoiding disturbance during the breeding season is especially important given its declining status.
NTAvesAnseriformesAnatidae
Seasonal Activity
152,415 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
- 574 g
Photo
(c) Julian, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Julian
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.