Stats

Lifespan: 2-3 yrs
Size: Medium
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Flock
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: Eurasia
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Flight
Status: Common

About

A dabbling duck of Palearctic wetlands, the male sports a chestnut head with a cream forehead stripe and soft pinkish-grey body, while both sexes show a distinctive high-pitched whistling call unlike any other duck's quack.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A clutch of eggs rests in a down-lined nest near water, covered and warmed by the brooding female.
2.
hatchling
A downy hatchling follows its mother to the water within hours and feeds itself almost immediately.
3.
juvenile
A juvenile grows its first true feathers, swimming in the family group and learning to dabble or dive.
4.
adult
Fully grown with adult plumage.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Mareca
Species: Mareca penelope