Common Shelduck
Tadorna tadorna
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderAnseriformes (Waterfowl)
- FamilyAnatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Swans)
- GenusTadorna (Typical Shelducks)
- SpeciesTadorna tadorna (Common Shelduck)
About the Common Shelduck
The common shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) is a waterfowl species of the shelduck genus Tadorna. It is widespread and common in the Palearctic, in Europe and northwest Africa mainly breeding on temperate coasts, saline pools and estuaries, and in Asia on inland salt lakes; increasingly it is also using open freshwater habitats inland. Wintering is in temperate to subtropical regions.
The common shelduck was formally named by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Anas tadorna. Linnaeus largely based his description on "The Sheldrake or Burrough-Duck" that had been described and illustrated in 1731 by the English naturalist Eleazar Albin. The specific epithet comes from the French word Tadorne for this species, a name that was used by the French naturalist Pierre Belon in 1555. It may originally derive from Celtic roots meaning "pied waterfowl", essentially the same as the English "shelduck". Linnaeus specified the locality as Europe but restricted this to Sweden in 1761. The common shelduck is now placed in the genus Tadorna that was introduced in 1822 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie. The species... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Camargue
Ruddy Shelduck
Tadorna ferruginea
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
Mute Swan
Cygnus olor
Northern Shoveler
Spatula clypeata
Common Teal
Anas crecca
Gadwall
Mareca strepera
Red-breasted Merganser
Mergus serrator
Red-crested Pochard
Netta rufina
Long-tailed Duck
Clangula hyemalis
Marbled Teal
Marmaronetta angustirostris
Greylag Goose
Anser anser
Garganey
Spatula querquedula
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 6 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 8 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 12 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 14 | Vatnajokull National Park | 🇮🇸 Iceland | |
| 15 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 16 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 17 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 18 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 19 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 20 | Thingvellir National Park | 🇮🇸 Iceland | |
| 21 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 22 | Gauja National Park | 🇱🇻 Latvia | |
| 23 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 24 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 25 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Common Shelduck in Camargue?
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Shelduck sighting in Camargue, based on 276 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Common Shelduck in Camargue?
January has the highest sighting rate for Common Shelduck in Camargue in our monthly data.