The breed of wild ducks Krokhal has become widespread in Russia and the CIS. The large size, decent weight and exquisite color of individuals attracts hunters of the Altai Territory, the Urals, Chita and Irkutsk regions. These special wild birds move to warm countries for the winter; occasionally you can see them on the Sea of Azov. What are the representatives of the middle zone of the Eurasian continent so famous for and why some subspecies have been entered in the Red Book?
Duck Krokhal
Distinctive features of the species
Duck Krohal in appearance and size resembles a small goose. Weight ranges from 1 to 2 kg, body length reaches 65 cm, and the wingspan is close to a meter (87-92 cm). Birds of this species are family, capable of fighting back when meeting with a small predator. In the cold season, they can stray into large flocks to ensure their survival.
Having studied the photo of the bird on the Internet, it is easy to notice the following distinguishing features:
- There is a special white “mirror” on the wings, which is very clearly visible against the background of the gray wing, which distinguishes these birds from all others.
- The males have a black head and top of the neck, which shines with a green sheen with a metallic effect in bright sunlight. The back is black, and closer to the tail is grayish. The rest of the body is white with a pink tint. Important: drakes change their color, because this is their secondary sex characteristic, which allows them to get the opportunity to reproduce.
- Females are easily distinguished by their red or brownish head and neck. The females have a white throat, and a gray and gray back.
- The beak of mergansers is bright red, at the end it bends into a hook.
- On the duck’s head is a remarkable crest.
It is worth noting that the long-nosed merganser and the big merganser differ from all representatives. Their color directly depends on the season. In the spring, it becomes brighter compared to the winter (as laid down by nature), but over the summer the color fades and by the fall it becomes completely dull and inconspicuous. That is why in the cold season it is so difficult to distinguish a female from a male in appearance.
Waterfowl habitat
The Krokhal duck is not only a breeding bird, but also a migratory one. In the summer, she likes to bask in the central strip of the Eurasian continent. In the spring, these birds fly among the first as soon as wormwood appears. Representatives of waterfowl go to winter only with the arrival of severe cold weather, which entails the freezing of water bodies.
Basically, representatives of ducks love to nest in forest places, although clutches have been seen in crevices of mountains, and even in coastal areas. Such a vast habitat is caused by a variety of subspecies. In summer, birds fill the central regions of not only the Eurasian continent, but also North America, and in winter they move to the shores of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, they can also be found in southern China (mainly where there is fish).
Important: if the winter lasts relatively warm, and the fast sections of the reservoir are not covered with a thin layer of ice, then the bird will not leave its favorite nesting place.
Waterfowl nutrition
The basis for the diet of all duck subspecies is fish, with priority:
- Salmon.
- Pike.
- Roach.
- Grayling.
During the winter, these birds can eat herring or saltwater fish, and sometimes feast on bugs, worms, crayfish, even mollusks.
Maturity and breeding features
The duck reaches sexual maturity by about 2 years. During courtship, the male constantly swims for the female, pressing his chest to the water. To attract the attention of his beloved, he has to sharply raise the body above the water surface, open his wings, and then take a classic pose, making a loud sound. Such games look pretty impressive from the outside. By the way, sometimes just such moments are captured in photos and videos by tourists.
As a rule, a duck in one clutch can bring up to 12 eggs to the nest and incubate them for about one month. After birth, ducklings are in a warm place for a maximum of two days. They hatch immediately downy and already at the first exit follow their mother to the water and even try to dive. The first week, babies feed mainly on insects that are on the surface of the water, but after a week they begin to catch fry, moving on the water, almost like an adult.
Approximately after 3 months, the ducklings begin to fly fully, but if the ducks lead a sedentary lifestyle, the ducklings will fly when they reach the age of 80 days, and migratory ones after 50.
Important: under favorable conditions, the duck can live up to 15 years, with a sedentary lifestyle, the period can reach 17 years.
Subspecies of Mergansers
In nature, you can meet four varieties of the considered waterfowl ducks:
- big merganser;
- long-nosed merganser;
- scaly merganser;
- smew.
In the photo, they will all look very disheveled due to the peculiarities of their breed.
Most often you can see a representative of the breed, whose name is big merganser. It has a rather large weight (up to 2 kg in winter). Perhaps this makes it the most interesting hunting object. Large merganser inhabits mainly in quiet lakes and rivers located near the northern taiga.
As mentioned earlier, there are other representatives of the species of merganser ducks in nature. For example, medium or long-nosed merganser (it has the longest and sharpest beak and shorter body length, which distinguishes it from relatives). This species lives mainly in the tundra and forests of Eurasia. It is often confused with such a subspecies as the scaly merganser.
Scaly merganser is found mainly in the Far East and China. There are very few representatives left, about 1.5 thousand couples. This was the reason for the entry in the Red Book.
Merganser (duck) - Common merganser
LARGE MERCANE (duck-pair)
Among the family of ducks, I would like to note one more specimen - Lutok. It has the smallest size among the rest of the species of duck merganser. It is important that this subspecies lives mainly among thickets and trees.
Interesting representatives of waterfowl ducked, because they are not picky about food, can easily find a place for nesting and do an excellent job of raising offspring. Scaly merganser is listed in the Red Book, and therefore hunting for it is prohibited.