Aythya ferina
Silhouette: Marie-Aimée ALLARD · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The common pochard (Aythya ferina), known simply as pochard in the United Kingdom, is a medium-sized diving duck in the family Anatidae. It is widespread across the Palearctic. It breeds primarily in Scandinavia and the steppe regions of Siberia, and winters farther south and west.
Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus first assigned a scientific name to the common pochard in the tenth edition of his landmark treatise Systema Naturae; this was the first edition which included such names. He called the duck Anas ferina. In 1822, German zoologist Friedrich Boie created the genus Aythya for various diving ducks, and moved the common pochard to that new genus. Uptake of Aythya as the genus for the common pochard was mixed for much of the next century, with some authors leaving the duck in the genus Anas or assigning it to various other now-defunct genera instead. The common pochard is considered a superspecies with the canvasback. In the past, the redhead of North America was thought to be a subspecies, but the common pochard is now agreed to be monotypic, with no subspecies. It is known to have hybridised with tufted duck and ferruginous duck in captivity, and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 5 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 8 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 9 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 10 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 12 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 15 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 16 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 17 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 18 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 19 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 20 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Moscow Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 3 | Zoobotánico Jerez | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Parc ornithologique de Pont-de-Gau | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Slimbridge Wetland Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Yerevan Zoo | 🇦🇲 Armenia | |
| 7 | Saint Louis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Twycross Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Centro Cicogne e Anatidi | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 10 | Cologne Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | Cleres Zoological Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Krasnodar Safari Park | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 13 | L'Oceanogràfic | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 14 | Zoo de Córdoba | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 15 | Alpenzoo Innsbruck | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 16 | NaturOparc (Centre de réintroduction des cigognes et des loutres) | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 17 | Tracy Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Zoo Koki (Parque zoológico y botánico) | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 19 | Florida Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Texas State Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 21 | Cologne Zoo Aquarium | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 22 | Les Oiseaux du Marais Poitevin | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 23 | Ogród Zoologiczny w Katowicach | 🇵🇱 Poland |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Pochard sighting in Nikko National Park on a given day, based on 69 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 54th most-seen of the 102 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and November–December
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Pochard in Nikko National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to September, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Pochard sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 20
Of the 20 parks where we can rate Common Pochard sightings, Nikko National Park ranks 9th at about 10%. The best odds are in Doñana National Park (Spain, about 40%), Hortobágy National Park (Hungary, about 40%) and Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 30%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Pochard is recorded against all the birds logged in Nikko National Park (69 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
