38) RUDDY SHELDUCK or BRAHMINY DUCK (Tadorna ferruginea)

Brahminy Duck Nalsarovar 17/12/10  

 38) Ruddy Shelduck or Brahminy Duck (Tadorna ferruginea)

The Ruddy Shelduck is also called Brahminy Duck in India.

I took the photograph of Ruddy Shelduck for the first time with Fuji HS 10 Camera in Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary on 17/12/2010. This sanctuary is about 60 Km outside Ahmedabad, Gujarat.  

Brahminy Duck Nalsarovar 17/12/10 

Brahminy Duck Nalsarovar 17/12/10 

Brahminy Duck Near Nathula 130613 

The Second time I saw this bird was in June 2013 in a lake when returning to Gangtok from Nathula Pass, Sikkim. I saw in a lake saw a couple of ducks and ducklings and took these photographs with Fuji HS10 camera. 

Brahminy Duck Near Nathula 130613 

Brahminy Duck Near Nathula 130613 

The breeding male ducks have a black collar on the neck. It breeds in high elevation lakes in the Himalayas. It is a winter visitor to other parts of India.

Brahminy Duck Near Nathula 130613 

Brahminy Duck Pachmarhi April 16 

The third sighting of this bird happened during April 2016 in Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh. Pachmarhi is a small hill station in Madhya Pradesh. I saw this solitary duck on the bank of a lake inside the town. Since this duck is a winter migrant to this part of India, I was surprised to see it at the peak of summer season. I took these photographs at Pachmarhi with Canon Camera. 

Brahminy Duck Pachmarhi April 16

Brahminy Duck Pachmarhi April 16 

Brahminy Duck Pachmarhi April 16 

The ruddy shelduck is mainly a nocturnal bird. It is omnivorous and feeds on grasses, young shoots of plants, grain, water plants as well as both aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates. On the land, it grazes on the foliage. In the shallow water, it dabbles. In deeper water, it up-ends instead of diving.

Brahminy Duck Pachmarhi April 16 

The ruddy shelduck is usually found in pairs or small groups except during winter when it can gather in large numbers on chosen lakes or slow rivers.

Ruddy Shelduck occupies 38^th position in my listing of birds that I have seen and photographed so far.

Reference: 

1) Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp

2) Birds of South Asia, The Ripley guide by Pamela C. Rasmussen and John C Anderton

3) The Book of Indian Birds by Salim Ali

4) A Pictorial Field Guide to Birds of India by Bikram Grewal, Sumit Sen, Sarwandeep Singh, Nikhil Devasar and Garima Bhatia

5) The Wikipedia

 #Ruddy #shelduck #brahminy #duck #nalsarovar #pachmarhi #nathulapass

37) GLOSSY IBIS (Plegadis falcinellus)

37) Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)

When I was going through old photographs on my personal computer, I came across these photographs taken on 17th, December 2010 at Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary in Gujarat with Fuji HS 10 camera. 

The sanctuary is situated about 60 km south-west of Ahmedabad. It covers a seasonal lake spread over an area of 115 square km. 

About thousand species of birds like flamingoes and other water birds migrate there during winter. Some indigenous species of birds can also be seen in the sanctuary. 

I had gone to Nalsarovar to watch flamingoes but it could not be seen on that day as the water level in the lake was high.

I have seen Glossy Ibis, Black Headed Ibis and Indian Black Ibis in Gujarat. 

But I have not seen them around Bhopal so far.  

Glossy Ibises prefer shallow freshwater habitat.

#Ibis #nalsarovar