Savka. Photo of a rare duck. White-headed duck habitats

A rare duck - a duck - has an unusual appearance, which can be seen in the photos presented in our article. Savka is a very beautiful bird, watching her is a real pleasure for true lovers of birds.

External signs of a cut

The duck is a beautiful medium-sized duck, its body weight is 500-800 grams. The body of the bird is dense, the neck is short and thick, the head is large.

During the mating season, a dark cap appears on the head of the male. The neck is adorned with a black feather necklace. The sides and back are rusty gray with dark specks. The chest and lower part of the neck are covered with rusty-brown feathers, the belly is light yellow. The dark tail is formed by 9 pairs of stiff tail feathers arranged vertically.

The wings are short, so the ducks hardly rise to the wing from the surface of the reservoir. A wide beak of gray-blue color has a growth at the base. The legs are red with black webbing between the toes, the eyes are light yellow.

The female differs from the male in its brown head and whitish neck. A wide light stripe with brown spots stretches from the base of the beak to the back of the head. Feathers on the back are yellowish-brown with transverse black stripes and gray spots. The underside of the body is a dirty whitish-yellow color. The paws of the duck are gray with a bluish tint, and the beak is dark, the eyes are light yellow.

Distribution

Savka lives in the steppes, forest-steppes, semi-deserts of North Africa and Eurasia. On the territory of Russia, the duck is found on the Sarpinsky lakes, in the Central Ciscaucasia, in the south of the Tyumen region, on the Manych-Gudilo and Manych lakes, in the interfluve of the Tobol and Ishim rivers, in the upper reaches of the Yenisei, in the Kulunda steppe. The duck winters in Turkey, North Africa, Iran, India, Pakistan.

Habitat

Savka prefers to settle on brackish and fresh water bodies, the banks of which are covered with dense reed beds. A prerequisite is the presence of open reaches and an abundance of aquatic plants. Sometimes among a colony of grebes or gulls. Wintering in birds takes place on open lakes and shores of sea bays. On migration, the white-headed duck can be seen even on mountain rivers.

The grasshopper feeds on chara algae, insects living in the water, larvae, seeds and leaves of pondweed, crustaceans, and molluscs.

Behavioral features of moths

When swimming, a duck sticks its tail up. He sits on the water with his body held high. When enemies appear, it dives, leaving only a small area of ​​​​the back on the surface of the water. Likewise, she swims in strong waves. Under water, the white-headed duck behaves confidently, not inferior in scuba diving to loons and cormorants.

The bird can swim without rising to the surface of the water, 30-40 meters. When immersed, it does not form splashes, emerging from the water, the duck is able to dive again and swim under water. Ducks are bad flyers, they go out on land extremely rarely. Water is a reliable habitat and the white-headed duck does not leave it without special need.

Reproduction of nettles

Birds arrive in breeding areas in April. The nesting period begins in May and ends in July. Mating games last until mid-June. A floating small nest is located among reed beds at a shallow depth. Savka sometimes uses the old nests of white-eyed pochard, coot, crested duck. The female lays 6 off-white eggs of a very large size, larger than those of the shelduck and mallard. Only the duck incubates, the male does not take part in breeding the chicks.

When leaving the nest, the female does not cover the eggs with fluff, perhaps this is due to the peculiarities of the development of the embryo, which are able to independently regulate the temperature of development. The eggs selected from the nest developed at room temperature; a week later, chicks appeared from them. Ducklings are covered with down, but their tail feathers are stiff. They are able to lift their tail upright, like adult birds. Not all ducks breed. Individuals that have not formed a pair feed on water bodies

Listen to the voice of the savka

Conservation status of whales

Savka is a rare duck. It is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation as a species under threat of extinction. Status - category 1. On the territory of our country there are vast areas where the white-headed duck nests. The bird species is protected in sanctuaries and reserves located in Western Siberia and Ciscaucasia. The ongoing conservation measures proved to be ineffective.

Appearance . The duck is medium in size, has a long wedge-shaped tail and relatively short wings. The plumage is predominantly brown in color with an almost black fine pattern, the neck and crown are black, and the head itself is white, the legs are gray, the beak is bright blue. The difference of the female is a dark brown head and white stripes near the neck and above the eyes, gray beak and paws.

Lifestyle . The white-headed duck inhabits the steppe, desert and forest-steppe zones; for wintering it flies to sea bays or large continental lakes. Depending on the area, it can be either a migratory or a settled bird.

Nesting is carried out on fresh, rarely salty lakes, abundantly overgrown with reeds and having clean reaches. The nest is built from leaves and reed stems among its thickets either near the water itself or directly on the water, attached to the stems. Does not make a lining, but there are nests with white fluff at the bottom. Laying is carried out in early June, it contains from 5 to 7 rather large eggs with a rough granular shell. At first they are greenish in color, later they become dirty yellow. The peculiarity of incubation is that the duck heats the eggs only for the first time, then the development of the embryo occurs independently.

It is interesting that, in principle, the white-headed duck flies quite quickly, but does not like it and takes off heavily and takes a very long run. On the surface of the water, the tail holds vertically, dives perfectly - it plunges into the water completely silently. He is always silent and tries not to stick his head out - he hides.

It feeds on leaves and seeds of various aquatic plants, insects or larvae.

Similar types. Compared to all other ducks, the duck has a rather long wedge-shaped and constantly sharply upturned tail, consisting of pointed feathers. Compared with the duck, they are quite similar in plumage color, but the structure and general features are completely different.

The duck is a bird from the family of ducks. This medium-sized duck weighs 500 to 900 g, has a body length of 43 to 48 cm and a wingspan of 62 to 72 cm.

During the mating season, the male has a very original color. The body is painted in brown-red and ocher color with a dark speck. The head of the male is white, with a black spot on top.

The beak has a bright blue-blue color. The female differs from the male in that her head is not white, but has the color of the rest of the body. In addition, the body color of the female is closer to brown than that of the male. In summer, the drake's beak turns gray, and the spot on top of the head expands. Sometimes there are even males with a completely black head.

Habitat

Savka lives in the Palearctic. The habitat is very fragmented and mosaic. It is found from western Mongolia and western China to Morocco and Spain. The range is divided into 4 main populations:

• Population in North Africa. Here the birds lead a sedentary lifestyle.
• East Asian population. This population is migratory. Nests are located in western and eastern Siberia, Mongolia. Wintering grounds are in Pakistan.
• Asian migratory population. Nests are located in the south of Russia and in Kazakhstan. Wintering grounds are located in the Middle East and Eastern Europe as far west as Greece, as well as in Western Asia, the Caspian and Ciscaucasia.
• Sedentary population in Spain.

In Russia, the nesting places of the white-headed duck are located on estuaries in the mouths of rivers and on lakes with reed thickets in semi-desert, steppe and forest-steppe zones.

Savka lifestyle

This duck spends almost its entire life cycle on the water, avoiding land. Chooses large fresh or salt water bodies with abundant reed vegetation and small internal bays and reaches.

Savka has a unique swimming style. She does this with her tail upright. Fleeing from danger, the cutthroat is able to dive deep enough. Under water can swim up to 40m. Dives almost silently and imperceptibly. It resorts to flight rarely and reluctantly, preferring to hide from danger under the water surface.

Duck feeding

The savanka gets food mainly with the advent of night. Dives to the depths in search of food. The diet includes crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic insects and their larvae, worms and aquatic plants.

Reproduction

On the nesting sites located on the territory of Russia, the duck arrives quite late. The nests are either fixed between the stalks of the reeds on the stretches, or erect them along the edge of the thickets of the reach on the reed quays. It can also nest in colonies of grebes and gulls.

The laying period is greatly extended in time, and in different geographical points of the range it can differ significantly. In one clutch, the female produces from 4 to 9 gray-white eggs. These eggs are quite large. Their diameter is 45 - 58 mm, length up to 80 mm, and weight up to 110 g. Savka lays the largest eggs relative to body weight among all waterfowl species. One clutch weighs about the same as the duck itself. The incubation period lasts a little longer than 3 weeks. Only the female incubates the eggs and subsequently takes care of the offspring. The chicks that were born are quite large. Almost from the very moment of birth, they already know how to swim and dive well. The chicks become fully independent as early as 3 weeks after birth, fully fledged after 8 to 10 weeks.

The duck belongs to the duck family. Forms a species that breeds from Spain and North Africa to western and central Asia. The habitat is very sparse. There are 4 populations in total. Migratory Asian and East Asian. Settled in Spain and North Africa. Migratory birds winter in the Middle East, in Greece, Pakistan. They nest in Kazakhstan, in the south of Russia, Mongolia, Eastern and Western Siberia. The habitat includes large areas of open water with dense aquatic vegetation.

The body is stocky, the size is medium. The length of the body reaches 43-48 cm with a mass of 580-750 g. The wingspan is 65-70 cm. Males are slightly larger than females. During the mating season, males have a white head with a black top. The beak is swollen at the base and has a blue color. The body is covered with dark red plumage, diluted with dark streaks. In females, the head has the same gray-brown color as the body. The beak is dark, near the eyes there are light longitudinal stripes. In males, after breeding, the beak becomes gray. Young birds look like females.

Reproduction and lifespan

The incubation period lasts 25 days. Only females are engaged in incubation and upbringing of chicks. Hatched chicks are covered with down and immediately begin to swim and dive. After 3 weeks, the female leaves the brood. Young birds form groups. Full plumage occurs at the age of 10 weeks. Birds become sexually mature at the age of 1 year. In the wild, the duck lives up to 18 years.

Behavior and nutrition

Representatives of the species live all their lives on the water and do not go to land. They swim with their tail upright. They can swim underwater up to 40 meters. They dive without a splash and are absolutely silent. They fly rarely and reluctantly. They feed mainly at night, diving to the depths. The diet consists of plant and animal foods. These are leaves, seeds of aquatic plants, molluscs, aquatic insects, larvae, worms, crustaceans.

Savka has such a peculiar appearance that it is difficult to confuse her with someone. The long tail and short wings make it completely different from other ducks. The unique image is complemented by variegated coloring.
Particularly interesting is the male duck in nuptial attire.

The head of the bird is white, with a black "cap", in the body color there are dark red, brown, brown and reddish-ocher colors. The tail of stiff feathers provocatively sticks up vertically. Special mention should be made of the beak: it is bright blue and strongly swollen at the base. For this, in some languages, the duck is called the blue-nosed duck.

The female is colored much more modestly: her plumage is dark brown, there are white stripes on her cheeks, and her beak is gray.

SAVE THE STEPPE DUCK

Savka is nowhere numerous. The number of pairs of this rare and poorly studied bird in some habitats reaches tens at best.

Only four countries can boast of a relatively large number of deadheads:, and, moreover, a fifth of the entire world population lives in Kazakhstan. The main reasons for this situation, as in many other species, are the destruction of habitats and extermination by poachers. Although the white-headed duck is listed in all possible Red Books, not all hunters know what it looks like. In addition, this duck lives in steppes and semi-deserts, where lakes often become shallow, which also negatively affects its numbers. This situation, of course, needs to be changed, and the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan undertook this in 2013. By the way, it is the duck that is depicted on the emblem of this organization. 45 lakes where this duck lives or can live have already been described in detail, counts of its numbers have been carried out, and work has begun to educate the local population. It can be hoped that through the efforts of scientists, this bird will cease to be disappearing.

UNDERWATER DINING

By its behavior, the white-headed duck is typically a diving duck. She dives magnificently, without sound and splash, as if drowning in water. Having swum so 30-40 m, the duck emerges and immediately plunges again. In case of danger or strong excitement, the bird may sink a little - so that only the very top of the back is visible above the water.

The cutthroat feeds mainly on seeds and leaves of aquatic plants, but does not disdain small mollusks and other aquatic invertebrates. She especially loves the larvae of twitching mosquitoes, which are scientifically called chironomids, and in everyday life - bloodworms.

BETWEEN THE LAKE AND THE SKY

The white-headed duck is a truly aquatic bird; it almost never comes out on land. He does not like to fly and rises to the wing after a long takeoff run and only when absolutely necessary. It flies fast and straight, and in flight makes a very strange impression, since the wings of this duck are very short - much shorter than those of birds similar in size.

Despite this, the ducks are migratory. The Kazakh population winters in the Caspian Sea, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The white-headed duck arrives at the nesting places later than other ducks, in April, when young greenery is already growing on the reservoirs. Birds start building nests even later, in May or early June. The most recent clutches are made in early July, however, it is possible that they are repeated, laid aside to replace those who died or were ruined.

The requirements for the nesting site of the blue-nosed duck are quite strict: it needs fresh or salt lakes with extensive reed beds, bogs and a large mirror of open water. It is there, on the border of reed beds, that the bird builds its floating nests.

SHORT CHILDHOOD

The eggs of the duck are much larger than those of other ducks. A full clutch most often consists of 5-6 eggs and can be equal in weight to the bird itself. Perhaps this was the reason for the curious phenomenon: the female duck does not incubate eggs as diligently as other ducks, and never covers them with fluff. According to some observations, it warms future chicks for only a few days, after which the embryos develop on their own. At least one experiment, carried out on eggs taken from the nest, ended successfully: they lay without any heating for about a week and healthy chicks hatched from them.

Interestingly, even newborn puffballs have stiff tail feathers and hold them vertically upwards, like adults. Chicks are generally born quite large and independent: they are almost immediately able to swim and dive. The mother takes care of the kids for a short time. During the day, she hides with her brood in thick reed supports, and at night she swims out to feed in open spaces. After 2-3 weeks, not yet fledged chicks enter an independent life. Sometimes they cluster into "kindergartens", which can have up to 75 ducklings.

The exact lifespan of the duck is unknown. Scientists suggest that, like other ducks, under ideal conditions, it is able to live up to 20 years, although this, of course, does not happen in nature.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF

Class: birds.
Order: Anseriformes.
Family: duck Genus: ducks.
Type: duck.
Latin name: Oxyura leucocephala
Size: body length - 43-48 cm, wingspan - 62-70 cm.
Weight: 500-900 g.
Coloration: red-brown, male has a white head and a blue beak.