Common Pochard (Aythya ferina) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

The Common Pochard is a Eurasian diving duck and is not a regular breeding bird in the United States. Males have a rusty-red head and red eyes, while females are brownish gray. The male's red eyes help distinguish it from the similar Redhead (Aythya americana), which has yellow eyes.

Appearance

Appearance: This medium-sized duck is about 18–19 in (45–47 cm) long. A breeding male has a rusty-red head, red eye, black chest, pale gray body, and a pale band across the bill; the female is brownish gray.

Look-alikes

RedheadAythya americana

A male Redhead (Aythya americana) has a yellow eye, rounder head, and gray bill with a black tip. A male Common Pochard has a red eye, a more sloping forehead, and a broad pale band across its otherwise dark bill.

Why they get mixed upMales of both species have a rusty head, black chest, and gray body.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: marshy lakes
reservoirs
reed-fringed wetlands
Range: Its regular range spans Europe and Asia, with birds moving south for winter. In the United States it appears mainly as an irregular visitor to Alaska.
Seasonal presence: It is a in Alaska and not a regular U.S. breeding bird.

Behavior

Diet: It dives for aquatic plants, seeds, snails, insects, and other small water animals.
Activity: It often feeds by diving in lakes, ponds, marshes, and reservoirs with plenty of aquatic vegetation. Outside the breeding season it can gather in flocks with other diving ducks.

Name and classification

About the name: Common Pochard hybrids with Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca) and Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) have been recorded.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: VUVulnerableHigh risk of extinction in the wild
Status: Wetland loss and degradation, hunting, pollution, and lead poisoning are among the reported threats.

10 sources