Common Shelduck

Common Shelduck

Tadorna tadorna

Silhouette: Rebecca Groom · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Tokyo

In 3 days <5%

8 Verified sightings at Tokyo
9,614 In all 14 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Common Shelduck

The common shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) is a waterfowl species of the shelduck genus Tadorna. It is widespread and common in the Palearctic, in Europe and northwest Africa mainly breeding on temperate coasts, saline pools and estuaries, and in Asia on inland salt lakes; increasingly it is also using open freshwater habitats inland. Wintering is in temperate to subtropical regions.

The common shelduck was formally named by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Anas tadorna. Linnaeus largely based his description on "The Sheldrake or Burrough-Duck" that had been described and illustrated in 1731 by the English naturalist Eleazar Albin. The specific epithet comes from the French word Tadorne for this species, a name that was used by the French naturalist Pierre Belon in 1555. It may originally derive from Celtic roots meaning "pied waterfowl", essentially the same as the English "shelduck". Linnaeus specified the locality as Europe but restricted this to Sweden in 1761. The common shelduck is now placed in the genus Tadorna that was introduced in 1822 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie. The species... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Begging call0:24

Austria · 2021

© Leander Khil · XC658677 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:50

United Kingdom · 2007

© Simon Elliott · XC599731 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:05

Poland · 2020

© Jarek Matusiak · XC569331 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~60%
2 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~40%
3 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
~30%
4 Kiskunság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~30%
5 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~30%
6 Hortobágy National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~20%
7 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
8 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
9 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
10 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
11 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
12 Biebrza National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
<5%
13 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
14 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~50%
2 Tunis 🇹🇳 Tunisia
~20%
3 Dublin 🇮🇪 Ireland
~10%
4 Dalian 🇨🇳 China
~10%
5 Rotterdam [The Hague] 🇳🇱 Netherlands
~10%
6 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
7 Agra 🇮🇳 India
~10%
8 Izmir 🇹🇷 Turkey
~10%
9 Hamburg 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
10 Fukuoka 🇯🇵 Japan
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Disney's Animal Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 San Diego Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
3 Moscow Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
4 ZooParc de Beauval 🇫🇷 France In captivity
5 Cleveland Metroparks Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
6 Barcelona Zoo 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
7 Parc Phœnix 🇫🇷 France In captivity
8 Parc des oiseaux 🇫🇷 France In captivity
9 Zoobotánico Jerez 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
10 Museum–aquarium of Nancy 🇫🇷 France In captivity
11 San Diego Zoo Safari Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
12 Minnesota Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
13 Safari West 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
14 Kansas City Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
15 Ramat Gan Safari 🇮🇱 Israel In captivity
16 Tallinn Zoo 🇪🇪 Estonia In captivity
17 Beijing Zoo 🇨🇳 China In captivity
18 Parque y Zoológico Nacional Arquitecto Manuel Valverde Podestá 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic In captivity
19 Cumberland Wildpark Grünau 🇦🇹 Austria In captivity
20 Dallas Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
21 Tama Zoological Park 🇯🇵 Japan In captivity
22 Silesian Zoological Garden 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
23 Wildlife World Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
24 Antalya Zoo 🇹🇷 Türkiye In captivity
25 Parc animalier de Gramat 🇫🇷 France In captivity
26 Warsaw Zoo 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
27 Guangzhou Zoo 🇨🇳 China In captivity
28 Hellabrunn Zoo 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
29 Kyiv Zoo 🇺🇦 Ukraine In captivity
30 Dierenpark Hoenderdaell 🇳🇱 Netherlands In captivity
31 Temaikén 🇦🇷 Argentina In captivity
32 Zoo Opole 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
33 Karlsruhe Zoo 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
34 San Antonio Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
35 Niabi Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
36 Cologne Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
37 Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden 🇭🇺 Hungary In captivity
38 Kharkiv Zoo 🇺🇦 Ukraine In captivity
39 Jersey Zoo 🇯🇪 Jersey In captivity
40 Bird Paradise 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
41 Aquarama Barcelona 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
42 Cleres Zoological Park 🇫🇷 France In captivity
43 Parc zoologique de Fréjus 🇫🇷 France In captivity
44 Plock Zoo 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
45 Rainforest Wild Asia 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
46 Tiergarten Straubing 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
47 Welsh Mountain Zoo 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
48 Zoo das Aves 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity
49 Biotropica 🇫🇷 France In captivity
50 Birdworld 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Common Shelduck in Tokyo?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Shelduck sighting in Tokyo on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 215th most-seen of the 229 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Common Shelduck in Tokyo?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Shelduck in Tokyo on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Common Shelduck?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Shelduck sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Tokyo the best place to see a Common Shelduck?

36th of 36

Of the 36 cities where we can rate Common Shelduck sightings, Tokyo ranks 36th at under 5%. The best odds are in Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 50%), Tunis (Tunisia, about 20%) and Dublin (Ireland, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Common Shelduck live in Tokyo?

Same family: Anatidae

The closest relatives of the Common Shelduck that you can see in Tokyo (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Eastern Spot-billed Duck (about 70%), Eurasian Teal (about 30%) and Mallard (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Common Shelduck sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Common Shelduck is recorded against all the birds logged in Tokyo (8 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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