turn black tufted - waterfowl duck, which spends most of its life on the water and dives to depths in search of food. Birds live in large flocks, settle near water bodies, and fly to warmer regions for the winter. In the second year of life, they form strong pairs that do not break up until death. Ducks have short wings, making it difficult for them to fly, but this feature does not prevent the birds from diving.
Appearance black crested
The Tufted Duck is a small waterfowl from the Anatidae family. Its other names are nigella, white-sided.Ducks live collectively, in large flocks. Drakes have a very beautiful appearance: shiny black plumage with a purple tint. On the sides, males have snow-white stripes that extend to the belly and bottom of the wings, and on the small head there is a combed-back crest (several hanging feathers).
In females, the color of the feathers has more restrained tones, the black color is diluted with brown, and there is no snow-white side stripe at all; the belly has a chocolate tint. The crest of ducks is slightly shorter.
In the wild, the crested duck lives for about 20 years. Ducks spend most of their time on the water. They get food by diving. They can dive to a depth of 4 meters. They take off from the surface of the water after a short run. Birds fly quickly. They can also take off from land. This duck does not make a typical quack. Females croak or snort. Drakes make a sound similar to a “gyun-gyun” whistle.
Habitat
The Tufted Duck is a waterfowl and diving bird. Such ducks settle near lakes, rivers, ponds, and artificial reservoirs with fresh water. Avoid swamps and river floodplains. This migratory bird winters in warm regions. In spring it flies to various regions of the temperate zone of Eurasia. Numerous flocks of ducks have been spotted in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.
Birds settle in different types of water bodies, but prefer fishery ponds where black-headed gulls live.Ducks choose deep lakes and reservoirs with an abundance of fish, insects, and surface and coastal vegetation.
Migrations
The Tufted Duck is a migratory, transit-migratory bird species. They arrive from warm countries in late March and early April. In water bodies of the temperate zone they appear when there is no longer ice on the surface of the water. At the end of May, ducks build nests and begin to hatch chicks. After a month, the ducklings hatch from the eggs. In the second month of life they can already fly.
All ducks are preparing for migration in September. First, the migrations begin. They precede migration to wintering grounds. Autumn departure occurs at the end of October, beginning of November. The blackbird winters in large flocks of several thousand birds in the subtropical zone, that is, on the coasts of France, Holland, Belgium, the British Isles, as well as on the coasts of the Black, Mediterranean, Caspian Sea and even in North Africa. A small percentage of ducks remain for the winter in the temperate zone of Eurasia.
What do they eat?
The main diet of birds is food of animal origin. Ducks eat insects, mosquitoes, dragonflies, frogs, mollusks, and small fish. When there is a lack of animal food, birds feed on vegetation. Chernyad dives well and can catch fish from a depth of 3-4 and even 10 meters. A duck can stay under water for almost a minute.
Duck breeding
Birds are ready to breed 1-2 years after birth. The tufted duck finds its mate during the winter. In early April, the birds fly to Eurasia, to places in the temperate climate zone, and stay in one common flock until mid-May. The pairs separate when the ducks settle on the nests. The tufted duck starts nesting later than other species of ducks.
Birds begin nesting at the end of May, at the beginning of June.The nesting period depends on the water level, as well as the availability of suitable places for nesting. Ducks prefer to roost under the protection of black-headed gulls. Birds nest together or alone. They can form colonies of twenty pairs or more. They often settle near common terns and black-headed gulls.
Nests are built on the ground, no further than 50 meters from the reservoir. Dry grass, pieces of reeds, twigs, feathers, and fluff are used as building materials. Nests are built in well-sheltered and inconspicuous places, in dense thickets of tall coastal vegetation, in blackberry bushes, reeds, reeds, and sedges. For nesting they often choose hummocks and small islands. The nest is cup-shaped, diameter is about 30 cm, depth is almost 16 cm.
A clutch contains 6-11 eggs, and sometimes even 20-27 eggs, although they belong to different females. The shell is gray-green, matte, smooth. The eggs weigh 53 grams. Their length is 6 centimeters, diameter is 4 centimeters. Females lay eggs in late May or early June.
Incubation lasts almost a month (23-27) days. In case of danger, females often leave the clutch and build new nests. During the season they manage to feed one brood. Nesting ends in July.
Only the female takes care of the hatched chicks. The duck and ducklings leave the nest and go to places where there is more food. In the first days of life, the chicks peck insects and plants from the water. Grown ducklings dive for food. The chicks become independent in the fifth week of life. At the age of two months, in August, young ducks fly. In October-November, together with their parents, they fly to warmer climes.
Natural enemies
Tufted ducks are often the prey of hunters. These birds have tasty, although fishy, fatty meat.Natural enemies of the tufted duck are crows, which destroy eggs and eat small ducklings, as well as herring gulls. Chicks that cannot fly often become prey to predators (foxes, wolves), so the entire brood rarely survives to adulthood. The Tufted Duck is hunted by birds of prey (hawks, kites).
