Common Pochard

• GeneralA diving duck that feeds on submerged plants 2-3 m down.
• It went from Least Concern to Vulnerable in 2015 because of rapid declines across its range: it is a clear case of a common species collapsing without anyone noticing.
• The causes of its decline in Russia are a revealing mosaic: steppe droughts, the abandonment of fish farms that served it as habitat, the hypereutrophication of lakes, the loss of black-headed gull colonies in its wetlands, and the spread of the invasive American mink and raccoon dog.
• It is considered a potential vector of highly pathogenic avian influenza, and its genetic structure has been studied for that reason.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat and environment

Deep lagoons, reservoirs and gravel pits

Birth weight

Precocial: born covered in down and leaves the nest within a few hours

Size at birth

Precocial: born covered in down and leaves the nest within a few hours

Sexual maturity

12 months

Gestation / incubation

24-26 days of incubation

Litter / clutch size

6-11 eggs per clutch

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List (reclasificado en 2015) · EUNIS - Agencia Europea de Medio Ambiente · SEO/BirdLife · Fox et al. 2020, Avian Research 11 (revisión del estatus en Rusia) · Liu, Keller y Heckel 2011, Ecology and Evolution · Directiva Aves · Linnaeus 1758 · Boie 1822

Best time: Mainly in winter, when the Spanish wetlands receive contingents from other latitudes