South African Shelduck… something I didn’t know.

South African Shelduck or Cape Shelduck, (Tadorna cana)

When researching yesterdays post about the Common Shelduck, I wasn’t aware that we had our own.. this I have to have a photo of somewhere… and blow me down I do, taken in the Kalahari where I found the other…

Not being very good on ducks ID, seeing as half is normally under water… this one did jump out at me… not the best and I only have two which i will share with you..

Here first a bit of info thanks to Wikipedia…

This is a 64 cm long bird which breeds in southern Africa, mainly in Namibia and South Africa. In the southern winter, many birds move north-east from the breeding range to favoured moulting grounds, where sizable concentrations occur.

This species is mainly associated with lakes and rivers in fairly open country, breeding in disused mammal holes, usually those of the Aardvark.

Adult South African Shelduck have ruddy bodies and wings strikingly marked with black, white and green. The male has a grey head, and the female has a white face and black crown, nape and neck sides.