Description:

A rather large drab duck with a plain head and steep forehead, slight dark eyeline and rather dished bill. White patch on inner secondaries in all plumages. Male is mainly grey with white belly and dark patch at rear; bill is dark grey. Female similar to female Mallard, but has orange sides to dark bill and clear-cut white belly.

Distribution:

Common passage migrant through major waterways and lakes all across Gilgit-Baltistan. Landing in the region during cloudy/harsh weather, at lakes, marshes, rivers and streams with fringe vegetation up to 4500m, avoiding turbulent waters.

Behavior:

Food normally obtained underwater by head dipping and upending, rarely from surface; occasionally grazes by walking on land. Kleptoparasitism of other waterfowl described. Essentially vegetarian; seeds, leaves, roots and stems of aquatic plants, especially green parts of plants, particularly submerged or emergent vegetation.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Gadwall in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Gadwall

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.