About Aythya nyroca (Güldenstädt, 1770)
This species is the ferruginous duck, with the scientific name Aythya nyroca (Güldenstädt, 1770). Breeding males have rich dark chestnut plumage on the head, breast, and flanks, paired with contrasting pure white undertail coverts. When in flight, their white belly and underwing patch can be seen. Females are duller and browner than males. Males have yellow eyes, while females have dark eyes. Ferruginous ducks mostly prefer fairly shallow freshwater bodies that have abundant submerged and floating vegetation, with dense stands of emergent vegetation along the margins. In some regions, they will also use saline or brackish pools and wetlands. During migration and winter, they also commonly visit coastal waters, inland seas, and large open lagoons. The ferruginous duck's breeding range extends from Iberia and the Maghreb east to western Mongolia, and south to Arabia. It is now scarce and localized in the western part of this range, and is locally extirpated in some western countries. Ferruginous ducks winter across the Mediterranean Basin and the Black Sea. A smaller number migrate through the Nile Valley to sub-Saharan Africa. Birds from the eastern part of the breeding range winter in southern and southeastern Asia.
