Best time to see: all year
Key facts
Medium-sized duck with large spatulate bill, often seen dabbling
Breeds on marshes and meadows with plenty of cover; on estuaries, reservoirs and lakes in winter
Resident species although breeding numbers quite low; widespread in winter
Recognition
Male: black and white but for bottle green head and chestnut flanks; female mottled brown with grey/orange bill; 50 cm
Feeds by sweeping large bill through water and wet mud, eating plants, molluscs and crustaceans
Clumsy on land; shows pale blue forewing in strong flight
Lifecycle
Drake and duck circle their territory in courtship flight
Nest is a deep hollow lined with grass and down
One brood of 8–12 buff or green eggs, April–May, incubated by duck, who also looks after the ducklings
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© David Harrison