The white-headed duck (''Oxyura leucocephala'') is a small

diving duck The diving ducks, commonly called pochards or scaups, are a category of duck which feed by diving beneath the surface of the water. They are part of Anatidae, the diverse and very large family that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The diving d ...

some long. The male has a white head with black crown, a blue bill, and reddish-grey plumage. The female has a dark bill and rather duller colouring. Its breeding habitat is lakes with open water and dense vegetation at the margin. It dives under water and feeds on aquatic vegetation as well as some animal matter. It is more likely to swim away from a perceived threat than to fly. This duck is known from Spain, North Africa,

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. Populations are declining, mostly due to loss of habitat and pollution, and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

has rated the bird's status as "

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The white-headed duck was originally described as ''Anas leucocephala'' by Giovani Antonio Scopoli in 1769. It is currently in the genus Oxyura. Other generic synonyms used in the past include ''Erismatura'', ''Cerconectes'', ''Gymnura'', ''Undina'', ''Bythonessa'', ''Plectrura'', and ''Pervicauda''. Other junior synonyms for the species include ''Anas mersa'', ''Anas vindila'', ''Anas ruthenica'', and ''Oxyura unifasciata''. Its scientific name comes from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''Oxyura'' (from ''oxus'', "sharp", and ''oura'', "tail") and ''leucocephala'' (from leukos, "white" and ''kephalos'', "head". The common name white-headed duck, like the specific name, refers to its white head. It interbreeds with other species in its genus, such as the

ruddy duck The ruddy duck (''Oxyura jamaicensis'') is a duck from North America and one of the stiff-tailed ducks. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek ''oxus'', "sharp", and ''oura'', "tail", and ''jamaicensis'' is "from Jamaica". Taxonomy The r ...

. The hybrids are fully fertile and capable of having viable offspring with both parent species. The species is monotypic. Different populations of the white-headed duck do not display significant genetic differences. However, some studies have found that they do display morphological differences, with western populations being larger in size, having darker ventral coloration, and males having more yellow feathers on their back. Dark phase birds have only been found in the western populations. In the genus Oxyura, it is generally thought to be related most closely to

Maccoa duck The Maccoa duck (''Oxyura maccoa'') is a stiff-tailed diving duck found across Eastern and Southern Africa. Description As members of the stiff-tailed duck group, Maccoas are often found wading in the water with their tail feathers cocked upwar ...

. Some studies have also found that these two species form a clade with the blue-billed duck, although this is disputed and species relations between Oxyura ducks are unresolved.

Description

Adult males have a grey and reddish body, a blue bill and a largely white head with a black cap and neck. Adult females have a grey-brown body with a white face and a darker bill, cap, and cheek stripe. Length is and weight is . White-headed Duck

Distribution and habitat

This duck breeds in Spain and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, with a larger population in western and central Asia. Their breeding

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is large tracts of open water, such as lakes and ponds including artificial water bodies, with dense stands of aquatic plants to provide shelter and nesting sites.White-headed Duck (''Oxyura leucocephala'') in Armenia.
2017. In online publication: "The State of Breeding Birds of Armenia". TSE NGO, Armenian Bird Census Council. Retrieved on 10 October 2017. Individuals are fairly frequently reported well north of their breeding range, but as with many

wildfowl The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating on ...

, the status of these extralimital records is clouded by the possibility of escapes from collections.

Behaviour and ecology

Diet

These birds dive and swim under water. They are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

, with vegetable matter predominating. They are reluctant to fly, preferring to swim for cover.

Conservation

This duck is considered

due to a large reduction in populations in the last 10 years. Most of this decline is due to habitat loss and hunting, but interbreeding of the Spanish population with the introduced

(''

Oxyura jamaicensis The ruddy duck (''Oxyura jamaicensis'') is a duck from North America and one of the stiff-tailed ducks. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek ''oxus'', "sharp", and ''oura'', "tail", and ''jamaicensis'' is "from Jamaica". Taxonomy The r ...

'') is a more recent threat. This has led to the attempted eradication of the American species from western Europe. The white-headed duck is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (

AEWA The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, or African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) is an independent international treaty developed under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme's Conventio ...

) applies, and the

has rated the bird's conservation status as being "

References

External links

*ARKive
images and movies of the white-headed duck ''(Oxyura leucocephala)''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q241399 white-headed duck white-headed duck Birds of Europe Birds of Azerbaijan Birds of Central Asia Birds of Western Asia white-headed duck