Characteristic of Diving Ducks

Diving ducks are a separate tribe of birds consisting of representatives of the duck family living in fresh waters of the northern hemisphere.

Table of Contents
  1. Common Dive Features
  2. Marble Teal
  3. Area of ​​residence and behavior
  4. Rose-headed duck
  5. Area of ​​residence and behavior
  6. Dives
  7. Red-Nosed
  8. Red-eyed
  9. Pampasnya
  10. Cherneti
  11. The habitat and behavior

Нырковые утки

Diving ducks

Common features of diving

Among the diving ducks there are several varieties that differ from each other They are the color of plumage, size and characteristic features of their appearance. The main habitat is North American territory. A distinctive feature of diving representatives is the extraction of food by diving into the water column. According to this specific ability to get food, diving ducks were awarded this name.

Among the diving there are several genera:

  • marble teal,
  • pink-headed duck,
  • dives,
  • blackened.

In addition, diving differs from other duck representatives in low landing a water surface, and often are in the lowered state into water tail.Among the features of take-off from the water is a preliminary run-up along the water surface, while the duck duck certainly touches the surface of the water with its paws.

Many hunters make mistakes, believing that the meat of all duck ducks smells of fish, which they mainly feed on. Many species of dives, in addition to fish, use a different source of nutrition, including vegetation in their diet. Only diving such as merganser and eider feed exclusively on fish food.

As a rule, the appearance of diving birds has specific stable features and a description characteristic of representatives of this tribe: short neck, tail and wings. Gathering in flocks, they are often lined up in a corner or in flight.

The look of diving ducks is shown most clearly by photos.

Marble teal

Marble bird got its name thanks to a spotty feather of gray-brown color, diluted with light spots. Today, the total number of marble teal numbers is no more than 55,000 individuals. The mass of teal is about 0.6 kg.

Habitat and behavior

This diving genus of ducks is distributed mainly in the region of Spain and Asia, and is listed among endangered birds. Until the 80s of the last century, marble teal could be found on the territory of Russia in the Volga River Delta and in the Caspian Sea, however, at the moment, nesting of these birds in our country is no longer recorded. For the winter, a marble teal flies to Iran, Africa or India.

The marble representative of ducks is considered quiet and inactive, preferring to swim, plunging deep into the water. These are excellent swimmers, who nevertheless often sit on the crowns of trees. Winged live mainly on reed and salt lakes with coastal shrubs overgrown with reeds. Build their nests on the ground or on tree branches, using hollows and alien nests.

Rose-headed duck

It is considered to be on the verge of extinction or already extinct species, the last time that it met in 1945. The birds measure 40-43 cm in length and have pink plumage on their head and neck.

Habitat and behavior

A pink-headed duck was not observed in India (in the eastern part countries), in Bangladesh and Myanmar (in the northern regions). Representatives of the genus of pinkheads preferred lowland marshes and ponds with tall grass as habitats. In this case, initially the pink-headed species of ducks was not numerous, and after intensified hunting, due to the unusual color of plumage, it completely disappeared. Today, such winged can be seen only in the photo.

Scientists are inclined to believe that the pink-headed ducks ate both plant (algae) and animal (shellfish) food. They built their nests in the grass, laying 6-7 eggs of a spherical shape with a white shell.

Dives

The medium-sized birds stand out with a large head compared to other proportions and short neck.They spend most of their lives in the reaches, reaching the coastline very rarely.

The genus of dives includes three main species.

Red-nosed

Quite a large representative of the genus of dives, reaching a weight of up to 1.5 kg. It is easy to recognize by its beautiful outfit: a bright red head and a red beak.

The habitat and behavior

A red-nosed dive can be found on the Volga, Amu Darya, southern Balkhash, in many Western European countries and the Mediterranean islands Central Asia. This genus of ducks prefers fresh lakes with reeds and reaches, but avoids salt ponds.

A red-nosed duck flies much easier than other ducks, and moves on the ground more freely than other diving representatives, and is able to run quickly in an emergency. However, worse than other diving ducks, it swims and dives, periodically getting up in the “candle” position.

Male red-nosed dives are silent in nature, only when spring comes you can hear their quiet voice in the form of a whistle. Frightened red-nosed dives hide in the water column, leaving only the head on the surface.

The basis of these birds’ food is plant food. Red-nosed duck eats animal food during the wintering period. Regardless of what concerns diving ducks, the red-nosed representative rarely dives for prey, preferring to collect food on the surface of the water.

Red-eyed

This species of dives got its name due to the red color of the eye iris. Its plumage is painted in dark brown, close to black, color. In length, red-eyed ducks dives grow up to half a meter.

The habitat and behavior

Red diving can be found in southern and central Africa and in Latin America. Birds prefer fresh ponds and lakes, a marshland. Most often, red-eyed dives live in packs, breaking up into breeding pairs for the nesting period. The nest is a female of the red-eyed market, which usually grows in the thicket of thickets, sometimes inhabiting other people’s bird’s nests. .

Habitat and behavior

Pampered diving can be found in South America, central Chile, northern Argentina and Uruguay. In winter, birds migrate towards Brazil and Bolivia. As habitats, the pampas dive chooses shallow water bodies – lakes and lagoons with brackish water – breaking nests in reed vegetation.

Despite the fact that it belongs to diving ducks, it is more similar to river ones in the way of food production. individuals, preferring seeds and rhizomes of aquatic plants as food.

Cherneti

Chunky birds with a rather large head, a long black or gray beak. Almost all types of blacks have a wide strip of light color on their wings.

Habitat and behavior

Available black species have spread across different continents. So, the American red-headed duck is found only in the American one, and in Russia there are 5 main varieties of blackness:

  • the crested representative lives almost throughout the territory, except the Far North,
  • the red-headed duck is found closer to Yakutia,
  • Baer’s dive was chosen for his place of residence by the east of Transbaikalia, Baer’s bird is found in the Primorsky Territory and Amur Region,
  • the white-eyed blacken can be seen near Pskov, Smolensk, Ryazan and Kaluga, in Bashkiria and Tatarstan,
  • sea black prefers Russians tundra and forest-tundra, stretching from the western side to the east, there is a sea duck, a dive in the Urals and where the polar line of the Arctic Ocean passes, flying to winter over the sea.

Blackeners spend more time on water, diving for food, getting food from the bottom, sinking into the water column in whole or in part. Only occasionally this genus of diving ducks can be seen on land.

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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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