Northern duck Sviyaz
The northern beauty duck Sviyaz is easily distinguishable from other wild relatives due to its memorable appearance. Even once looking at the photo, it will be easy to recognize her when meeting face to face. But this bird has other features, which will also be discussed.
Duck Sviyaz
Description
general characteristics
I would like to start with the main distinguishing characteristic of Sviyaz - a light yellow stripe running from the beak to the back of the head. White transverse stripes also run along the long wings.
The witch duck is a large bird, the average body length of which is about 50 cm, and the weight is up to 1 kg in males and up to 700 g in females. The wingspan is 70-85 cm. The feathered head is small, the neck is short and the forehead is rather high. The body is stocky, spindle-shaped. The tail and wings are sharply pointed at the ends.
Colors
As expected, the plumage of the male is much brighter than the outfit of the female. His head is brownish-red with the stripe mentioned at the beginning. The eyes are brown with a green speck on top. The body itself is gray, but the belly is white. On the gray breast, a pinkish or reddish subtone of feathers, black sides and upper tail area are noticeable. Wing mirror saturated green with purple overflow.
The beak is black at the end, but the main part is gray-blue. Gray paws usually have a yellow or brown tint.
The “female half” is less presentable: its plumage is dirty brown with a reddish undertone, sometimes it can also be gray. The young look exactly the same.
Vote
Another feature that the Sviyaz duck possesses is its voice. It is quite specific, it resembles a smooth whistle. Frightened individuals whistle especially sharply. Hence the name Sviyaz.
In response to the whistling calls of the drake, the ducks simply quack muffledly.
Interesting Facts
In coastal meadows and salt marshes, these birds are the most common and numerous of all wild ducks. It is typical for Sviyazi to unite with flocks of large birds: swans, pintails, and brent geese. Together with them, they can safely graze in meadows near water bodies.
In terms of taste, Sviyaz's meat stands out significantly among all the game. In connection with this fact, these birds are massively caught during wintering periods, when they sit in numerous groups.
It happens that ducks sleep during the day, "sitting" on the waves and swaying peacefully.
In addition to the name Sviyaz, you can find people like Svistun and Sviyaga - all this is about the same bird. By the way, in Germany it is called so - "whistling duck". In England, they call it "half-duck", because in the 19th century in the markets it was only half the price of the usual cost of a duck: it was considered too small. Once upon a time, the British called her "simpleton." This nickname was assigned by hunters, for whom catching Sviyaz was as easy as shelling pears.
Where dwell
The endless northern expanses are home to these birds, but the Sviyaz duck still flies to places with a milder climate: to South Asia, Indochina, Africa, the Mediterranean.
Mostly populations of ducks can be found in:
- Russia (Kamchatka, the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, Palearctic, Baikal, Altai Mountains, North Caucasus);
- Finland;
- Scandinavia.
They also fly over the coasts of the Arctic, Iceland. They nest much less often in the European part of Russia.
They inhabit the forest-tundra, taiga and forest-steppe. The territory of their residence presupposes the presence of dense vegetation and small bodies of water (swamps, lakes, pools with a muddy bottom, flooded fields). These preferences are directly related to their nutritional needs.
Wintering flocks settle in estuaries and sea bays of warm regions.
Lifestyle
Character and habits
The Sviyaz bird is inherent in being cautious, but in general, these are incredibly friendly creatures. Their daily routine consists mainly of finding food for themselves.
These are collective ducks, in flocks they make off-season flights, sticking together almost all the time, except for the breeding season. In the photo, you can easily capture them gathered in a group of tens of hundreds of individuals.
Their flight is light and fast. They easily rise from the water surface, uplift in an upright position and quickly return back. They do not tend to dive, they are uncomfortable under water, but they move freely through overgrown meadows and other surfaces.
Food
Sviyaz's diet is based on plant foods: seeds, shoots, duckweed, algae, rhizomes, sea rupee, grain. It's practically vegetarian. The structure of its beak is such that it simply will not be able to fish for itself, although it will be able to catch small insects flying or crawling by (worms, locusts, etc.).
Reproduction
Mating season
The Sviyaz duck becomes sexually mature by the first year of life. Birds steamed either when they are preparing to fly to winter in hot countries, or when making a flight. They are monogamous.
Their flirting is relatively calm. The drake takes a place near the duck that attracted him, defiantly spreading his feathers. All the rest, in turn, understand that a couple has formed in the flock.
When hovering, Sviyazi whistle especially loudly. Eggs are laid from the end of May to June.
Nesting
On the shoulders, or more correctly, the wings, of the female, the task of arranging the nest lies. She chooses a place, usually near water, digs a shallow hole and forms her future perch.
Sviyazi managed to stand out here as well. They do not build their nests from branches, like most wild ducks, but immediately choose places with dried grass or thickets, which can only be covered with their own down.
The duck incubates a lot of eggs: from 6 to 10 pieces 50 mm in size, this process takes about 25 days. Males during this period guard their family and leave it only when molt sets in.
Offspring
For the first day, newborn ducklings sit in their own nest. After - go out after mom to the water. They are very mobile, move quickly, swim and dive. On the 45th day, they make their first flights.