Short Description
The common pochard has a comparatively long, high head with a sloping forehead. The wings are single-coloured without a contrasting field.
Males are easily recognised by their chestnut-brown head, their dark-brown to black chest and the white-grey upper parts. A striking feature is the red iris. The bill is black with a grey central area.
Females have dark-brown heads and chests and brown-grey upper parts. Their backs and flanks are pale grey. The iris is dark-brown. The bill is black with a narrow grey stripe.
Features
Common pochard
Aythya ferina
single-coloured wings without stripes
Rufe (daneben Bläßhuhn)
Tembrock, CC BY-SA 3.0
Similar species
Canvasback
Aythya valisineria
Redhead
Aythya americana
In the city
In an urban environment, common pochards are mainly found on park ponds. In cities, they frequently stay over the winter and do not migrate south.
Fun Facts
Their German name “Tafelente” (“table duck”) indicates that they were regarded as tasty birds for roasting. Its Latin name also means “game”.
Feeding wild fowl with bread or similar poses a great risk to animals and water. For that reason, feeding is forbidden.
- Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
Sources
Männchen, Laitche, gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Duck_WUXGA.jpg
Weibchen, Roland zh, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aythya_ferina_-_Busskirch_2011-02-12_16-03-54.jpg
Weibchen mit Kücken, Hunter Desportes, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aythya_ferina_Gentofte_2.jpg
Harrison, C. (1975) Jungvögel, Eier und Nester aller Vögel Europas, Nordafrikas und des Mittleren Ostens - Ein Naturführer zur Fortpflanzungsbiologie, Hamburg und Berlin: Verlag Paul Parey.
Bejcek, V. (1988) Zugvögel, Hanau/Main: Verlag Werner Dausien.
Witt, K. & Steiof, K. (2013) Rote Liste und Liste der Brutvögel von Berlin, 3. version, 15.11.2013. : Berliner Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V. (eds.) Berliner Ornithologischer Bericht, volume 23, Berlin: Berliner Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V., 1-23.
Page „Tafelente“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 19.10. 2015, 15:08 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tafelente&oldid=147170422 (Accessed: 18.02.2016).
NABU Landesverband Berlin (n.d.) Was tun wenn, URL: https://berlin.nabu.de/tiere-und-pflanzen/was-tun-wenn/13076.html (Accessed: 16.09.2016).