White-Headed Duck

• GeneralIt came to the brink of extinction in Spain, down to 22 birds in 1977; today it is a recovery story.
• Its recovery is one of the great successes of Spanish conservation: from a few dozen birds in the 1970s to a viable population, thanks to the protection of the Andalusian lagoons and a captive breeding programme begun at Doñana in 1984 that was already releasing 41 ducklings by 1989.
• It rarely flies: taking off needs a long run across the water, and faced with danger it would rather dive.
• The male's bill turns from grey to blue in the breeding season, and that change marks the start of the territorial fighting.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat and environment

Shallow lagoons with dense marsh vegetation

Sexual maturity

Courtship begins in February and March; breeding ends in August

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List; SEO/BirdLife (III Atlas: Orueta 2022); Catálogo Español de Especies Amenazadas (RD 139/2011); Directiva Aves Anexo I; MITECO, Estrategia para la conservación de la cerceta pardilla, focha moruna y malvasía cabeciblanca (2014); Torres-Esquivias 2003, Quercus 207; Ballesteros et al. 2008; Aguilar y Sánchez 1982; Scopoli 1769

Best time: From February to August, when the male's bill turns from grey to blue and courtship begins

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.