Tadorne de Belon— Quebec wildlife

The common shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) is a waterfowl species of the shelduck genus Tadorna. It is widespread and common in the Palearctic, in Europe and northwest Africa mainly breeding on temperate coasts, saline pools and estuaries, and in Asia on inland salt lakes; increasingly it is also using open freshwater habitats inland. Wintering is in temperate to subtropical regions.

Description

The common shelduck resembles a small short-necked goose in size and shape. It is 55–65 cm long and with a wingspan of 100–120 cm, with a reddish-pink bill, pink feet, a white body with chestnut patches and a black belly, and a dark green head and neck. The wing coverts are white, the primary remiges black, and the secondaries black with a strong green iridescent reflection in good light (only showing in flight). The outer tertial feather is orange-brown, with the inner tertials white. The underwings are white, except for the flight feathers, which are black. The sexes are similar, but the female is slightly smaller, usually with some white flecks on the green face, while the male is particularly crisply coloured in the breeding season, his bill bright red and bearing a prominent knob at the base of the bill. The ducklings are white, with blackish-brown cap, hindneck and wing and back patches. Juveniles are similarly coloured, greyish above and mostly white below, but already have the adult's wing pattern. The call is a loud honk.