Description:

A large and very distinctive, mostly white duck with dished bill. Adult has greenish-black head and neck, and largely white body with chestnut breast-band and black scapular stripe. Female is very similar to male, but slightly duller. Juvenile lacks breast-band and has sooty-brown upperparts.

Distribution:

Uncommon passage migrant through major waterways and lakes in Gilgit-Baltistan, mainly western parts. Lands during cloudy/harsh weather, at lakes, marshes, rivers and streams with fringe vegetation up to 3500m, avoiding turbulent waters.

Behavior:

Forages by digging, scything or dabbling on exposed mud and by head dipping and upending in shallow water; young will also dive for food. Regularly feeds by night. Mostly feeds on aquatic invertebrates; also some small fish and spawn, worms and plant materials like algae, seeds and grain.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Common Shelduck in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Common Shelduck

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.