031 Ferruginous Duck
(Aythya nyroca)
Identification
38-42cm. Medium-small, rather short-bodied duck with long bill and neck, and characteristically high forehead and peaked crown. Adult males' whole plumage deep chestnut (tinged purplish), darkest on back and palest on flanks, except for white undertail and belly. It has white eye.
Description
In Hungary the Ferruginous Duck breeds mainly in fishponds with dense vegetation, reservoirs, oxbow lake, marshes. Most important populations live in Somogy, Hortobágy, Biharugra and Southern Great Plain. The former population decline has recently stopped, and an increase can be observed at certain places. Migrant, occasionally overwinters. The first birds arrive after thaw, and soon concentrate near the breeding sites. The autumn gathering starts in the second half of August, and the last birds leave the country by mid-October.
.JPG "031 Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca )")
Source: 1) Lovászi Péter (editor): Javasolt különleges madárvédelmi területek Magyarországon, Magyar Madártani és Természetvédelmi Egyesület, 2002; 2) BirdLife International:IUCN Red List for birds. Species factsheet; 3) Králl Attila, Nagy Károly: Fontos Madárélőhelyek Magyarországon (Területek, kritériumok és minősítő fajok) MME Monitoring Központ, 2007; 4) Szabolcs Kókay bird illustrations; 5) www.hungarianbirdwatching.com bird descriptions and checklists, 2004-2012; 6) Lars Svensson et al.: Collins Bird Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe 2nd Edition, Harper Collins, 2010; 7) MME Nomenclator Bizottság: Nomenclator avium Hungariae. An annotated list of the birds of Hungary. Magyar Madártani és Természetvédelmi Egyesület, 2008