Netta rufina (Pallas, 1773)

The red-crested pochard (Netta rufina) is a large diving duck. The adult male bird can be easily identified by a rounded orange head, red bill and black breast. The adult male has a light chestnut coloured head and crest region. The rest of the head and upper neck are dark chestnut chestnut. The lower neck, breast, and abdomen are very dark brown to black in colour. The flanks are white with a pinkish hue. The back and scapulars are brown with white shoulder-bands. The secondaries, the primaries and the tertails are banded with white colour, thereafter tipped with brown, which gives it a prominent and broad white coloured band formation tipped wuth brown, when it opens out the wings or during its flight. Also there is another narrow white coloured band at the leading edges of the wing, running from shoulders till the alula portion. The underwings are paler, giving it a white to light brown coloured appearance, bordered with brown colour at trailing edges of the wings. The tail is ashy-brown and upper tail-coverts are dark brown to black in colour. The female is mainly a pale brown, with a darker back and crown portion, without a crest. It has cheek and throat whitish in colour. The back and breast have shades of pale red to greyish-brown in colour. It has a dull white coloured shoulder band. The male a brilliant red coloured bill, tipped with yellow and red coloured tarsus and feet. Red colourd irises.

Breeding populations of these pochard species occur in Europe and Central Asia. These birds winter in the Indian Subcontinent and Africa. The red-crested pochard species were introduced into British Isles and a successful breeding population is established there.

Global Distribution

Native: Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Armenia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Bangladesh; Belarus; Belgium; Bhutan; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; China; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Egypt; Estonia; France; Georgia; Germany; Greece; Hungary; India; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Israel; Italy; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Latvia; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Moldova; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; Myanmar; Nepal; Netherlands; Pakistan; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russian Federation (Central Asian Russia, Eastern Asian Russia, European Russia); Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain (Canary Is. - Vagrant); Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Tajikistan; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; Uzbekistan. Introduced: United Kingdom. Vagrant: Bahrain; Finland; Ireland; Japan; Lebanon; Libya; Malta; Norway; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Sri Lanka; Sweden; Thailand; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates.