#0659 · 🐦 birds
Ruddy Shelduck
🇳🇱 Casarca ·Tadorna ferruginea
8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
what is it?
The ruddy shelduck ( Tadorna ferruginea ), known in India as the Brahminy duck , is a member of the family Anatidae. It is a distinctive waterfowl, 58 to 70 cm (23 to 28 in) in length with a wingspan of 110 to 135 cm (43 to 53 in). It has orange-brown body plumage with a paler head, while the tail and the flight feathers in the wings are black, contrasting with the white wing-coverts. It is a migratory bird, wintering in the...
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 256 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 33,755 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Weighs up to about 1.4 kg.
- Scientifically named by Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 (262 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Ruddy Shelduck
- Nederlands
- Casarca
- scientific name
- Tadorna ferruginea
- class
- Aves
- order
- Anseriformes
- family
- Anatidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 256
- sightings in Europe
- 22,562
- sightings worldwide
- 33,755
- GBIF records in NL
- 78,161
- weight
- 1.4 kg
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1764 by Peter Simon Pallas
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Anatidae
#0532 📷 9Mallard
🇳🇱 Wilde Eend
Anas platyrhynchos
LC 👀 9k in NL
#0535 📷 9Greylag Goose
🇳🇱 Grauwe Gans
Anser anser
LC 👀 6.1k in NL
#0537 📷 10Egyptian Goose
🇳🇱 Nijlgans
Alopochen aegyptiaca
LC 👀 5.2k in NL
#0544 📷 9Mute Swan
🇳🇱 Knobbelzwaan
Cygnus olor
LC 👀 3.9k in NL
#0545 📷 8Tufted Duck
🇳🇱 Kuifeend
Aythya fuligula
LC 👀 3.6k in NL
#0555 📷 10Gadwall
🇳🇱 Krakeend
Mareca strepera
LC 👀 2.5k in NL
#0558 📷 10Canada Goose
🇳🇱 Grote Canadese gans
Branta canadensis
LC 👀 2.3k in NL
#0560 📷 10Common Shelduck
🇳🇱 Bergeend
Tadorna tadorna
LC 👀 2.2k in NL
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 7068, Wikidata Q170723, GBIF 2498015, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.