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WetlandCavity nestLarge · 1.2 kg
ID tip
Adult South African shelducks have ruddy bodies and wings strikingly marked with black, white and green. The male has a grey head, and the female has a white face and black crown, nape and neck sides. In flight they can be hard to distinguish from Egyptian geese. Juveniles are duller in appearance. Young females lack the white on the head, excluding white eye circles. The colour on the females head is highly variable, with the extent of white increasing with age, and can become almost fully white-headed.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the South African Shelduck
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is September, the month with the most records.
Where to see the South African Shelduck
The map shades 9 countries with regular records, and 12 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Germany, France, United States, Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Czechia, Austria, Slovakia, Canada.
About the South African Shelduck
The South African shelduck or Cape shelduck is a species of shelduck, a group of large goose-like birds in the bird family Anatidae, which includes the swans, geese and ducks. This is a common species native to southern Africa.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Paradise ShelduckTadorna variegataThe paradise shelduck is a colourful, large-bodied species of duck that differs in features depending on the sex.
Australian ShelduckTadorna tadornoidesThe males are mostly dark, with a chestnut breast.
Ruddy ShelduckTadorna ferrugineaThe ruddy shelduck grows to a length of 58 to 70 cm (23 to 28 in) and has a 110–135 cm (43–53 in) wingspan.
Side by side: Ruddy Shelduck vs South African Shelduck · Australian Shelduck vs South African Shelduck · Paradise Shelduck vs South African Shelduck
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