Physical description
Males and females have small differences. The male has a dark greenish head, a red beak with an excrescence of the same color, an important visual sexual characteristic during courtship displays.
Physical description
The female is almost as colorful as the male (a characteristic allowed by its sheltered brooding in burrows) and does not have a bump on the beak, often more marked with black. Adults have pink legs.
Additional information
The Common Shelduck is widespread in Scandinavia and the British Isles to Tunisia and even to East China. There are permanent habitat centers in the Caucasus.
Additional information
In France, it is found in Picardy, Normandy and Brittany, in Charente-Maritime but also in Languedoc Roussillon and in Camargue.
Diet
The diet of the Common Shelduck is composed essentially of gastropods, but also of other prey such as crustaceans and worms.
Conservation and threats
This species is protected by the decree of 17/04/81.
