Among wild ducks, a separate group includes birds that are capable of diving to great depths and moving quickly under water over distances of more than 10 m. These are diving ducks. These include pochard, teal, duck, scoter, and eider. Individuals differ in plumage color, body shape and habitat. Pochards prefer a mild, temperate climate. They occupy all of Europe and Central Asia.
Duck dive
Ducks are distributed almost everywhere, excluding the Arctic and tundra zones. Turpans and eiders thrive in the northern regions of Eurasia, North and South America. Which birds belong to pochards? Are all ducks commercial?
Varieties of dives
All divers are united not only by the ability to dive under water to a significant depth, but also by body shape, flight characteristics, and lifestyle. Pochard is a medium-sized duck. The body is compact and muscular. Pochards have a large, rounded head. The beak has a slightly flattened plate. The duck's neck is short but thick.
Flight muscles are well developed. A distinctive feature of all diving fish is the membrane of skin on the posterior phalanx of the limbs. The order of ducks includes the following species of ducks: red-eyed duck, red-nosed duck and pampas duck. How do they look? Where do they live?
Red-eyed Pochard
The duck got its name from the bright red color of the iris. The bird's head is a rich chestnut color. Against the background of the plumage, the eyes glow like bright lights. The duck is small in size. Body length no more than 50 cm, weight on average 1.3 kg. Drakes are larger and brighter than females.
Males get their beautiful plumage after the autumn molt. It is necessary to attract females. At the end of the mating season, when the birds have already created a family, individuals experience a change of feathers. Drakes differ from females only in their greater weight:
- The drake's body is chocolate-colored, its wings and sides are piebald, and its belly is white. The chest has a gray tint. The feathers are cast in a muted pink color;
- The feather cover of females is discreet. Ducks are gray. The head does not differ in shade from the body. Eyes can be scarlet or black;
- the mirror in both the female and the male is formed by white flight feathers with a gray edge;
- The duck's beak and metatarsals are bright black.
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Red-eyed diving ducks live in South America, on the shores of the Red Sea, on the African coast of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. A small population of birds found in Madagascar. Individuals are not migratory. They are not considered game birds. The red-eyed duck is listed in the International Red Book.
Red-eyed Pochard
Red-nosed birds
Red-nosed ducks, like red-eyed ducks, have a bright scarlet iris, but their plumage has more saturated tones. During the mating season, drakes are covered with bright clothes. Their heads, like those of the red-eyed individuals, are chestnut-colored. The back and chest are black with a green tint. The wings, tail feathers and rump are dark. The wings are a light cream color. The mirror is formed by white feathers with a black edging.
The feather cover of females is predominantly brown. The beak of both the drake and females is bright red, narrow, but slightly flattened on the sides. The tip of the nose is bent down. Individuals have a horizontal landing. The tail is lowered and lies on the water. The feathers form a fan.
The main population of ducks is found on the Mediterranean coast. Birds occupy almost the entire Iberian Peninsula. Here individuals lead a sedentary lifestyle. The red-nosed duck also lives in the regions of Central Asia.
Ducks are common on the banks of the Volga, Syr Darya, and Lake Balkhash. A small settlement is located in Western Europe. From European countries and the northern regions of Asia, the duck migrates to the west of China, the south of Kazakhstan, and to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
The red-nose pochard weighs 1.7 kg. It is a game bird. The species is not listed in the Red Book. Not only meat is obtained from ducks, but also bright feathers, which are used to make jewelry. Down has high thermal insulation properties. The meat is dark red, the subcutaneous fat is orange. The carcass itself looks unattractive, but all this does not prevent the game from being used for food.
Pampas dive
The duck of this species has a limited, endemic habitat. Ornithologists note small populations of birds in Latin America, on the Falkland Islands in the southwest Atlantic Ocean. Individuals prefer salty water. They are not found in fresh water bodies:
- the plumage is distinguished by a noble silvery tint with small splashes of white;
- the head and chest are dark purple. In the sun the feather has a pink tint;
- belly white;
- flight feathers are light with a black border;
- the iris of the eyes is red. It stands out clearly against the purple background of the plumage.
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The head is small, rounded. The beak is red at the base and has a voluminous growth of horny tissue. The middle of the beak is white, the tip is black. The shape is flatter than that of individuals of other species. Pampas ducks were domesticated by humans, but they are not found in backyards. Birds can be seen in artificial ponds in zoos.
Orders and species of waterfowl
Waterfowl include all or individual representatives of the following orders:
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes are common in all natural areas and landscapes. This detachment is large in number, but heterogeneous. Birds of small and medium size most often lead a terrestrial-aquatic lifestyle. The color is dominated by dull shades. The food of most representatives is fish. Charadriiformes usually nest on the ground, and the chicks hatch with thick down.
Representatives: auk, ivory gull, plover, round-nose phalarope, tern, sea pigeon and puffin.
Crane-like
The order consists of birds whose appearance is significantly different from other waterfowl. It is considered a relict group. Representatives can be found all over the world, excluding Antarctica. The weight of birds ranges from 30 g to 15 kg. Crane-like creatures most often settle along the banks of water bodies, in dry and open spaces. They are practically not found in forest areas.
Mating dances are considered a characteristic feature. Representatives of the order nest on the ground. Most crane-like creatures prefer plant foods and small animals, such as frogs.
Representatives: water rail, coot, plume, common moorhen, small crake.
Penguin-like
They are considered a separate detachment that has ancient origins. All representatives live on the islands and coasts of the southern hemisphere, with the exception of the Galapagos penguin. Birds cannot fly, but they dive well. The largest species, the emperor penguin, can weigh up to 50 kg. The plumage is small but dense, so the birds have a well-developed fat layer.
In water, penguins swim at an average speed of about 6 km/h; on land they also move quickly. Both parents hatch the eggs. The hatched chicks are covered with down, but are blind until the second week of life. Penguins' food sources include crustaceans, crabs, squid and fish.
Representatives: emperor penguin, crested penguin, king penguin, chinstrap penguin, little penguin, etc.
Pelicaniformes
Representatives of the order are united by a feature: all four fingers are connected by a membrane. Birds' legs are usually short. Thick and hard plumage fits tightly to the body, subcutaneous air sacs are well developed. Both parents participate in incubating the eggs. The chicks hatch naked and helpless. Birds feed them semi-digested food. Representatives of the detachment fly and swim well, but move unconvincingly on land. Most often, pelicans forage in water.
Representatives: Dalmatian pelican, great cormorant, northern gannet, darter, chaise, frigate, etc.
Grebes
The order consists entirely of waterfowl, which are common on all continents except Antarctica. The representatives received this name for the unpleasant odor emanating from their meat. Birds dive well and spend up to 15 seconds under water. They are able to move horizontally underwater. Grebes move clumsily on the ground and have difficulty taking off from a hard surface.
The dense plumage of grebes repels water well. The weight of various representatives ranges from 150 g to 1.5 kg. Many species are diurnal. Most often, partners build a floating nest, which is carefully camouflaged. The chicks are able to swim immediately after hatching. The bird's diet consists of insects, crustaceans and fish.
Representatives: pied-billed grebe, grebe, Clark's grebe, black-necked grebe, gray-cheeked grebe, etc.
Loons
The order also consists of birds leading a predominantly aquatic lifestyle. Representatives can swim long distances. Thick plumage saves birds from hypothermia. Loons are good divers; they can spend up to 2 minutes under water. Representatives of the order are mainly seabirds; they migrate to fresh water bodies for nesting periods. Birds move poorly on land, not stepping, but sliding on their paws. From a distance it looks like they are crawling on their belly.
Birds build nests on the water, and both partners incubate the eggs. The hatched chicks are covered with gray down. A few days later they are already swimming. Loons feed on small fish, worms and insects.
Representatives: black-throated loon, white-billed loon, polar loon, red-throated loon, etc.
What do birds eat?
The main part of the diving diet is plant food. Birds dive not to catch fish, but to pluck stems or leaves of algae. The food used is pondweed, algae with a long stem and wide leaves. They are typical for all river reservoirs. Ducks love hornwort, which often floats on the surface of the water and has needle-like leaves. In shallow waters, individuals eat mosquito larvae and fish eggs.
During the mating season and during molting, ducks need protein foods enriched with calcium and phosphorus. Ducks go to deep water in search of fish, crustaceans, and shellfish. In order to get food or catch fish, they are forced to dive, immersing themselves completely under water.
Birds spend a lot of time on the shore. They not only bask in the sun, but also look for plant seeds for themselves. Evening flights to fields with cereal crops are typical for red-nosed ducks. During such flights, birds become targets for hunters.
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Ducks take off from the water heavily and ponderously. They quickly work their wings to make a run on the surface of the water. They rise into the air to an average height. They do not move far into the sky even during migratory flights. They can stay in flight for a long time, more than 6 hours. Red-nosed diving ducks reach speeds of up to 80 km/h. They make a loud noise with their wings.
Red-eyed individuals and birds of the pompous subspecies are rarely chosen from the reservoir. They prefer to eat algae and animal food that is close to the surface of the water. They catch fish and small invertebrate animals during the molting period and before mating.
Adaptation of waterfowl to aquatic habitats
The bird does not drown thanks to its thick plumage and subcutaneous air sacs. The coccygeal gland, which is located near the tail, secretes fat. The bird applies it to its plumage using its beak. Lubricated feathers repel water, protecting birds from getting wet.
The bodies of waterfowl are dense, flattened in the dorso-ventral direction. This shape gives them stability on the water surface. Most diving species have evolved a thick subcutaneous layer of fat to help avoid hypothermia at low water temperatures. Waterfowl have developed skin membranes on their feet, increasing the overall area. This allows you to quickly move and maneuver in the water.
Classification
There is the following classification of seabirds:
- Petrel-like animals include 93 species, among which a distinction is made between pelagic and oceanic. These include albatrosses, storm petrels, and common and diving petrels.
- Pelican-like - there are 57 species. Among them are cormorants, gannets, phaeton and frigatebirds. These also include representatives of pelicans.
- Penguin-like animals, living in the Southern Hemisphere and Antarctica, number 16 species.
- Charadriiformes have 305 species. Among them are cutwaters, terns, skuas, gulls and auks.
Seabird family: description
These birds, in comparison with their other brothers belonging to other groups, are considered long-lived. In general, their life cycle has a slightly shifted time frame. For example, representatives of the marine group pair and reproduce much later than their comrades. Over the entire cycle, they have fewer chicks, but they devote relatively more time to their offspring. Life expectancy is also significantly increased. Seabirds usually nest in large colonies. Some of them live permanently in one area, others can migrate over significant distances every year, and some even travel by air around the entire Earth.
There are varieties that spend almost their entire life cycle away from the shores, in the endless waters of the oceans. And their brothers settle only on land, going to drift on the waves only for the sake of prey. However, in addition to these two opposing types, there is also a third. Its representatives spend part of their time in the coastal zone, and the rest in the waters of the seas and oceans.
As one might expect, the world of birds has not been without human intervention. People often used birds as a food source. And for experienced fishermen and experienced sailors, they served as a guide. Of course, human activity does not go unnoticed, and now many species are on the verge of extinction. Unfortunately, some exist only on the pages of the Red Book.
Cormorant is a bird with a special feather structure
All representatives of marine species, except cormorants and certain varieties of terns, have plumage impregnated with a layer of fat. This water-repellent property serves as reliable protection against getting wet, and the dense down ensures a constant body temperature even in cold water. The cormorant is a bird that has an advantage over its other relatives in the special structure of its feathers. This allows him not to freeze even if he has to dive a lot and for a long time. The greater specific gravity provides this representative of birds with the opportunity to stay under water for a long time.
Seagull and other interesting birds
Another waterfowl seabird is the gull. It feeds mainly on small fish. It obtains food in different ways: catching on the surface, diving from the air to a certain depth, hunting under water with pursuit, and does not disdain representatives of higher vertebrates.
The first principle is explained by the presence of different water currents, which often contribute to pushing small inhabitants of the seas and oceans to shallow depths. This is what birds expect when they are on the surface. They just need to dip their head into the water, and the prey ends up in the beak. The second type of food production is used by typhoon birds, frigate birds and storm petrels. They deftly soar over the surface of the sea, making an instant dive into the water and picking up food as they go. Most of them have a hard time taking off if they land on the water surface. Some gulls, including petrels, on the contrary, hunt afloat. Although the previous type of hunting is by no means alien to them. Sooty albatrosses, slender-billed petrels and many other seabirds are capable of diving to depths of up to 70 m in pursuit of prey. The structure of the beak is of particular importance. Thus, many albatrosses have plate-like growths along the perimeter, which allows them to filter and retain plankton from the water. Phaetons, gannets, terns and pelicans dive into the waves directly from above. They often work in tandem with other ocean inhabitants.
Since for effective aerial viewing the water must have a maximum degree of transparency, hunting in the wild does not always occur according to the intended principle. When visibility is limited, representatives of this species look for concentrations of dolphins, as well as tuna. By swimming, they help push schools of fish to a shallow depth from the surface, where they are caught by pelicans and the like.
Bird colony settlements are found at tropical latitudes, for example, on the Pacific Island. Christmas, outside the Arctic Circle - in Antarctica. Albatrosses nest in small numbers, while guillemots and guillemots hold the record for colony density.
Penguin
Almost all representatives of the seabird family have plumage colors of black, gray or white. However, there are birds that have brighter and more variegated colors. For example, a penguin is a bird, some species of which have multi-colored plumage in the neck and chest. Color is very important in the wild. Its main function is camouflage, that is, the ability to blend in with the colors of a certain area. This allows not only birds, but all animals to hide from a predator’s attack or not give themselves away while hunting for prey.
