Wigeon is one of the most famous Northern birds. It is often called Whistler, fistula or Sviyaga. The name duck has received it for the ability to produce unusual sounds that resemble whistling.
She lives in Northern forest-tundra, and winters in the warmer latitudes of South Asia, East Africa, and Indochina. Sviazi ducks live in large flocks, so to meet them singly is almost impossible. In some cases, the number of individuals exceed a few thousand. The ducks are going to wet meadows, banks of marshes and agricultural fields.
Duck has a fairly large size, which are second only to the Mallard. The length of the bird is 45-50 cm and a wingspan of up to 75-85 cm It features a short neck, a pointed tail and a short beak.
One of the features include a high forehead ducks sviazi and white stripes on the wings. The body of the bird is stocky and veretenoobraznaya. The average weight of the male sviazi is 600-1000 grams, females – 500-900 grams.
Male wild ducks sviazi makes a handsome appearance. It has a brown head with a Golden stripe, white belly, reddish-gray chest, gray top, black tail and sides.
Small feathers in the lower part of the wing of a duck, which are called mirror cast purple and green hues, and the shoulders are decorated with white spots, make the bird even more striking and noticeable.
Sviazi the beak has a bluish tint with black edge and legs gray. Females of sviazi more modest in your attire. It presents a reddish-gray tones, making them invisible in nature.
The unique voice of a bird
Ducks wigeons audible even on huge distance, allowing you to distinguish them from other migratory birds. This contributes to the vivid color of plumage and the unusual voice. Interestingly, males and females make very different sounds. In ordinary time individual ducks male lingering issue and smooth sounds “evaluate your” or “PII-u”, reminiscent of a whistle or the sound of a rubber toy.
In the mating season the voice of Wigeon, a few changes, it added a special touch. Males call females shouting “free-RUO” or “evaluate your-ru”. Female ducks meet a muted sound resembling the sound of a “Kerr”.
Especially breeding birds
To create offspring the young from wild ducks finished in the first year of life. In some cases, females do not mate, waiting for next summer. This leads to the fact that part of the weft pairs is formed in autumn before flying to warmer climes, and the other part directly during the flight. Most often the nesting areas of birds have returned to full pairs.
Mating wigeons are quite modest and do not have striking manifestations. Males most of the time near females showing the others that she’s already taken. In the process of mating season, they sound like a loud whistle, and which owe their name.
For nesting birds choose the hiding place in the thickets of last year’s grass or shrubs. The female builds the nest, which is located in the hole to a depth of 5-7 cm In the process of building a duck uses its own fluff. In the period from late may to mid-June the female lays eggs, which in masonry are usually 6-10 pieces.
The first days of hatching, the male ducks near the female, but after a time removed to moult. Then they are on the lakes of Siberia, in the deltas of the rivers Volga and Ural.
Sviazi the female incubates the eggs for about 25 days.
After a few hours after the kids dries and go after mom. They already have open eyes and ears, excellent at swimming and running, learning to look for food in the first days of life. Young Chicks are ducks able to fly at the age of 40-45 days. During this period, brood breaks. The birds gather together in late August when they fly to warmer climes for the winter.
The Wigeon lives on the territory of Russia, Scandinavia, the Northern Caucasus and Finland. You can see them also in Iceland and adjacent to the coast of the Arctic Islands. Most often large groups of birds can be observed in the taiga zone and in the European part they are almost there. An impressive population of Wigeon is found on the lake, the South side of the Altai mountains, on the shores of the sea of Okhotsk in the areas of the Palaearctic region and Kamchatka.
For a nesting duck chooses shallow waters with a muddy bottom. An obligatory condition is the presence of large amounts of vegetation, so the birds feel safe. That’s why ducks wigeons can be seen in the creeks, swamps or lakes forests.
In winter, ducks gather in groups and fly in the warm lagoons and bays. Most often it is Western Europe, southern Japan and Asia, the Mediterranean.
Duck-vegetarian
Wigeon – a bird that eats plant food. They are able to find their living not only in water but also on the shore, nipping the grass. Diet sviazi usually the following:
Wigeon feeds
bulbs and rhizomes of aquatic plants;
shoots;
green leaves;
seeds;
duckweed;
various herbs
grain.
Live foods are also present in the diet of the ducks is, although uncommon. They are represented by locusts, worms, mollusks, fish fry and tadpoles.
Most often duck feeds during the day. However, in some areas of the feeding space can be filled with water at high tide. Then power schedule shifts and Wigeon feeding in the morning or night.
The Wigeon does not like to dive, but its diet often present roots and lush grasses that grow on the riverbed. Smart birds use someone else’s help, not spending alone time under water. Wigeon can often be found close to the swans, where they pick up leftover food from the surface of the water.
The process of shedding sviazi long enough, but for the entire period she does not lose the ability to fly. This is possible due to the fact that the wing feathers of a duck fall out gradually, not all at once. This gives you the opportunity to grow them and to enable the bird to fly. Other representatives of wild ducks molting process quick. That is why dangerous while they wait in the dense thickets without the ability of flight.
Life expectancy of birds up to 15 years if they live in captivity. Under natural conditions, ducks live a lot less and rarely more than 2-3 years. Wigeon has a large industrial value. Most often they are extracted in the wintering period, when they gather in large clusters. Duck is considered one of the best quality meat.
