Tadorna ferruginea
Silhouette: Rebecca Groom · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) is a bird species in the family Anatidae. It is a distinctive waterfowl, 58 to 70 cm (23 to 28 in) in length with a wingspan of 110 to 135 cm (43 to 53 in). It has orange-brown body plumage with a paler head, while the tail and the flight feathers in the wings are black, contrasting with the white wing-coverts. It is a migratory bird, wintering in the Indian subcontinent and breeding in southeastern Europe and central Asia, though there are small resident populations in North Africa. It has a loud honking call.
The ruddy shelduck mostly inhabits inland water-bodies such as lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The male and female form a lasting pair bond and the nest may be well away from water, in a crevice or hole in a cliff, tree or similar site. A clutch of about eight eggs is laid and is incubated solely by the female for about four weeks. The young are cared for by both parents and fledge about eight weeks after hatching.
In central and eastern Asia populations are steady or rising, but in Europe they are generally in decline. Altogether, the birds have a wide range and large total population, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed their conservation status as being of least concern. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 3 | Bale Mountains National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 4 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 6 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 8 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 13 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 14 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 15 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 16 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 17 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 18 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agra | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 3 | Zhengzhou | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Tianjin | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 5 | Kazan | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 6 | Beijing | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 7 | Dalian | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 8 | Ulaanbaatar | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 9 | Visakhapatnam | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Bhopal | 🇮🇳 India |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Ruddy Shelduck sighting in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, based on 164 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 180th most-seen of the 285 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Ruddy Shelduck in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ruddy Shelduck sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
13th of 18
Of the 18 parks where we can rate Ruddy Shelduck sightings, Wadden Sea National Park ranks 13th at under 5%. The best odds are in Kaziranga National Park (India, about 60%), Chitwan National Park (Nepal, about 50%) and Bale Mountains National Park (Ethiopia, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ruddy Shelduck is recorded against all the birds logged in Wadden Sea National Park (164 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.
