![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2020\/09\/Ducks-for-BBC-Wildlife-Shoveler-and-ducklings-835173c.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Which species of duck are found in the UK?<\/h2>\n
The UK\u2019s 22 regularly occurring duck species are shown below, along with their breeding and wintering populations, and their status as UK birds (the majority are native but a few are non-native, introduced accidentally or deliberately here by people).<\/p>\n
The first two in the list, the Egyptian goose and shelduck, fall somewhere in between the geese and the ducks in terms of their relationships. The Egyptian goose looks more goose-like and the shelduck more duck-like, but because they are such close cousins we are including them both here.<\/p>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2020\/10\/Egyptian-Geese-flock-2-16920e4.jpg?quality=90&resize=551%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Species (scientific name<\/em>) \u2013 breeding population\/wintering population \u2013 native or introduced:<\/strong><\/p>\n We often divide up the ducks into two categories by the way that they find their food. Dabbling ducks stay on the surface, and dip their bills into the water \u2013 they may also dip in their whole heads or \u2018up-end\u2019 to reach deeper, but they don\u2019t actually fully submerge. Diving ducks dive right under the surface and actively swim underwater, taking food from the bottom or chasing prey through the water.<\/p>\n Dabblers and divers may both also feed on dry land, but you will see the dabblers doing this much more often. Even when they are not feeding, you can often tell a dabbler from a diver on the water by looking at its back end. A dabbler sits high on the water, with its tail pointing up at an angle, while a diver has a lower profile, with the tail close to or sometimes even under the surface.<\/p>\n Most of our ducks have a fairly varied diet but they have their favourite foods, and some are true specialists. The eider and the scoters, for example, mainly feed on crabs and mussels from the sea bed. They can dive down more than 20 metres and stay under for more than a minute. The sawbills (goosander, smew and red-breasted merganser) chase fish underwater, while the wigeon spends most of its time grazing on grassy lake shores.<\/p>\n Because their food tends to be abundant in particular places, ducks look for other ducks when they are on the wing and in search of a place to forage. At the best, richest feeding areas they will gather in huge, mixed-species flocks. However, even small parkland lakes will often attract a few extra migrant ducks in winter.<\/p>\n Sometimes \u2013 in fact quite often \u2013 you will find a duck that isn\u2019t in the books. Here in the UK there are many zoos and parks that keep collections of exotic wildfowl from all over the world. These birds are kept from straying by having the flight feathers cut short on one wing, but the feathers do regrow each year and without careful attention, some birds manage to escape. The UK populations of Egyptian goose, mandarin and red-crested pochard all derive from escaped birds.<\/p>\n You might also encounter escaped (or, sadly, dumped) domestic ducks, of the kinds usually kept for eggs or meat, or just as pets. Most of these descend from the mallard but may look very different to wild mallards.<\/p>\n The Muscovy duck is another domestic species that is often encountered in the wild. Domestic-type ducks are most commonly met with at town park lakes but you could see them in wilder places too.<\/p>\n A third, less frequent group of oddballs are the hybrids. Ducks are not always that choosy about their partners and it is quite common for two different species to breed together. The resultant hybrids show a more or less random mixture of the traits of both parents.<\/p>\n If you find a duck that you don\u2019t recognise and that\u2019s not shown in your field guide, you could try posting a photograph of it online \u2013 several bird identification groups exist on Facebook, or tweet the photo.<\/p>\n And remember there is always a chance that your oddity is a genuine wild bird that has become lost on migration \u2013 for example, each year a few wild North American ducks such as green-winged teal and lesser scaup will turn up in the UK.<\/p>\n Britain is a major wintering area for wildfowl, attracting birds from Greenland in the west to Siberia in the east.<\/p>\n Migrants make up a significant component of the ducks that we see here during the coldest months, and a considerable number of species come from Russia, including breeding populations of teal, wigeon, pochard, tufted duck and pintail.<\/p>\n These species winter in Britain in large numbers, with more birds present in years when the weather conditions elsewhere in Europe are particularly poor. Mallards also fly in from Russia, though the majority come from Iceland and northern Europe.<\/p>\n Not all migrating Russian ducks come to Britain. The bulk of the Russian gadwall population, for instance, winters on the Black and Caspian Seas, so only a few records exist of these individuals visiting the UK.<\/p>\n This Q&A originally appeared in <\/em>BBC Wildlife, and was answered by Mike Toms<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Despite their apparently docile nature, mallards are fascinating to observe. Their prenuptials are often quite aggressive and can involve several males chasing and forcing themselves upon a female. These are usually males that have missed out on pairing up the conventional way and instead choose to hang out in bachelor gangs.<\/p>\n Ducks are one of the few birds with an external penis \u2013 most other bird species have a sensory opening known as the cloaca. So it can\u2019t be much fun for the poor female.<\/p>\n However, recent research has shown that female ducks have the last word. These include internal adaptations that force the male down cul-de-sacs that prevent fertilisation. Effectively, she only allows the males that she likes to fertilise her.<\/p>\n This Q&A originally appeared in <\/em>BBC Wildlife, and was answered by David Lindo<\/a>.<\/em><\/p> What types of duck are there?<\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2020\/08\/Chapter-4-Pintail-upending-29cc709.jpg?quality=90&crop=6px%2C52px%2C2228px%2C1484px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2020\/08\/Chapter-4-or-9-Wigeons-grazing-cff8b06-scaled.jpg?quality=90&crop=8px%2C0px%2C2544px%2C1694px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What other species of ducks can be found in the UK?<\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2020\/08\/Chapter-9-Mallard-male-crested-domestic-5228129-scaled.jpg?quality=90&resize=569%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2020\/08\/Chapter-3-Tufted-Duck-x-Red-crested-Pochard-hybrid-male-6241cec.jpg?quality=90&crop=6px%2C63px%2C2346px%2C1562px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Which of our wintering ducks come from Russia?<\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/06\/Pintail.-GettyImages-1368637478-dcdc260.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Why are male mallards so violent towards females?<\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/06\/Mallards.-GettyImages-1154219720-54ecf69.jpg?quality=90&crop=0px%2C340px%2C4949px%2C3297px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>12 species of ducks to look out for in the UK<\/h2>\n
Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna<\/em>)<\/h3>\n
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