About Tadorna cana (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)
Adult South African shelducks (Tadorna cana) have ruddy bodies and wings that are strikingly marked with black, white, and green. Males have a grey head, while females have a white face with black markings on the crown, nape, and sides of the neck. In flight, South African shelducks can be hard to distinguish from Egyptian geese. Juveniles have duller overall plumage than adults. Young females have no white coloration on the head, apart from white eye circles. Female head coloration is highly variable: the amount of white on the head increases with age, and older females can become almost fully white-headed. Males produce a deep honk or hoogh call, while females typically make a louder, sharper hark call. The South African shelduck is one of the species covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA).
