Common Pochard vs Wandering Whistling-duck

Aythya ferina مقارنةً بـ Dendrocygna arcuata

Side-by-Side Comparison

السمة Common Pochard Wandering Whistling-duck
الاسم العلمي Aythya ferina Dendrocygna arcuata
الرتبة Anseriformes Anseriformes
الفصيلة Anatidae Anatidae
حالة الحفاظ Vulnerable Least Concern
الطول
طول الجناح 41,7 cm (16.4 in) 37,2 cm (14.6 in)
الوزن 845,5 g (29.82 oz) 779,5 g (27.50 oz)
النظام الغذائي Eats molluscs, crustaceans, and aquatic invertebrates; dives in shallow water; diet dominated by hard-shelled benthic … Eats grasses, sedges, and aquatic plants in tundra; winter diet of coastal salt marsh grasses …
عدد البيض في الوضع 3-22 6-15
Population Trend

Habitat Comparison

الموائل المشتركة

Common Pochard only

Wandering Whistling-duck only

بلا

Common Pochard

Breeds on freshwater lakes and marshes with emergent vegetation across Eurasia from Iceland and western Europe east to Siberia. Winters on large open lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries.

Wandering Whistling-duck

Tropical freshwater marshes, flooded grasslands, swamps, and lake margins from the Philippines and Indonesia through Papua New Guinea to northern and eastern Australia. Nomadic following wet season flooding.

Song & Call Comparison

Common Pochard

الغناء

Male emits a soft, wheezing purr; female gives a harsh, grating quacking series. The male's gentle, sibilant purring contrasts with the female's loud, grating call on European and Asian lakes.

Wandering Whistling-duck

الغناء

A soft whistle 'whi-whi-whi' in flight. Less vocal than other whistling-ducks; flocks tend to be quieter. Given at dawn and dusk during flight to roosting or feeding areas.

Geographic Range & Migration

Common Pochard

Breeds across northern and central North America; winters in Mexico, Central America, and along both US coasts.

Wandering Whistling-duck

Breeds in Arctic and subarctic regions; winters at sea around the Antarctic pack ice, one of the longest migrations known.

حالة الحفاظ

Vulnerable

Common Pochard

Least Concern

Wandering Whistling-duck

How to Tell Them Apart

Common Pochard

الريش

Males have chestnut-red head and neck; black breast; pale gray body; black undertail. Red eye. Blue-gray bill with dark base and tip. Females brown with pale face and eye-ring. Gray …

Wandering Whistling-duck

الريش

Rich chestnut-brown head and neck; dark brown back. Flanks rufous with pale buff streaks and dark spots. Belly blackish. Long, dark pinkish legs. Upright posture typical of whistling-ducks. Sexes similar.

About These Birds

Common Pochard

A medium-sized diving duck. Males have a rich chestnut-red head, black breast, and pale grey body; females are brown with a pale face. Widely distributed across Eurasia. Population declining sharply; Vulnerable on European Red List.

Wandering Whistling-duck

A medium-sized whistling-duck with rufous-brown body, dark brown back, pale buff underparts, and a chestnut collar. Found in tropical wetlands from Indonesia to Australia and Pacific islands. Highly social and nomadic. Forages by dabbling and diving in shallow freshwater.

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