Garganey

The garganey is a small dabbling duck, about 41cm long with a wingspan of 58–69cm and a weight of 300–440g. The adult male is unmistakable, with a brown head and breast, a broad white crescent over the eye, a grey body with loose grey shoulder feathers, and a pale blue speculum bordered white in flight. The brown female resembles a female common teal, but her stronger face pattern, with a pale eyebrow, dark eye-line and pale spot by the bill, and her frequent head-shaking while feeding help to separate them (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds across much of Europe and the Palearctic in grassland beside shallow marshes and steppe lakes, and is strictly migratory: the whole population moves south in the northern winter, to Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Australasia, where large flocks can form. It feeds mainly by skimming rather than upending and rises easily from the water in a fast, twisting flight. In India it is a winter migrant. SoIB 2023 estimates a long-term decline of about 58% and a current fall of about 6% a year, and rates it a High conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).