Common Pochard

Aythya ferina (Linnaeus, 1758)

		male female
2020-02-28 Lenin. Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan border. 2021-11-27 Cholpon-Ata	© Askar Isabekov © Irina Romanovskaia

Biology

Common breeding migrant and numerous on migration. Inhabits fresh and salty steppe lakes and rivers with well developed reed-beds, prefers deep water, both on plains and in mountains up to 1500 m in Altai. Appears somewhat later than river ducks, in early March – mid-April. Migrates in separate flocks from some dozen up to 100-150 birds. As a rule, movement is finished by mid-May. Nest is built in reed-beds, on shallow water or on meadow tussocks and in flooded forests from dry reed leaves and other vegetation and lined with down. Clutches of 5-14 eggs in late April – end June. Female incubates 24-26 days. Juveniles hatch end May – early July, and begin to fly end July – late August. After females begin incubation, males gather on large deep lakes and moult (end May – mid-July). Autumn migration begins in September, peak movement end September – October; some birds linger into November, when water freezes.

References

Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005. Э.И.Гаврилов. "Фауна и распространение птиц Казахстана". Алматы, 1999. В.К.Рябицев. "Птицы Урала, Приуралья и Западной Сибири". Екатеринбург. Изд-во Уральского университета, 2000.