You’ll often hear wigeons before you see them – the male’s excitable, whistling ‘wee-oo’ call is very distinctive. In flight, they show white patches on the leading edge of the ‘arm’ of the wing, and white bellies. The male has mainly dove-grey and peachy-pink plumage, while the female is a rich chocolate-brown colour. Woolfenden, G. E. (1959). "Postcranial osteology of the waterfowl". Bull. Fla. State Mus. 6 (1): 183–187.

Pink-headed duck - Wikipedia Pink-headed duck - Wikipedia

They’re larger than common pochard but the plumage is similar, with the males sporting a fiery perm! Some wild birds are seen in the UK but it’s likely that all of the breeding birds in the south of England are populations established from escaped collection birds.Just slightly smaller than the mallard and the female plumage is confusingly similar. The male plumage may seem plain but look closely at the breast and intricate ‘vermiculations’ can be seen. Some spend the summer with us but many more over winter. The female is mottled brown overall with a white streak by the tail. The green stripe on the wing is less bright, and the bill is grey with a pink base. The male in eclipse plumage resembles the female. Distribution: Restricted to scattered areas of Scotland and the east of England in summer in only small numbers. Their significant winter population has an expanded range that includes much of the English coastline and parts of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Anonymous (1875). Revised list of the vertebrated animals now or lately living in the gardens of the Zoological Society. Zoological Society of London. p.29. The female is chocolate brown with paler flanks, and white underparts, and the crest is shorter. She also may have white patches around the base of the bill. The male in eclipse plumage looks like the female.

Tell When a Duck Breast is Cooked - Great British Chefs How to Tell When a Duck Breast is Cooked - Great British Chefs

Garganeys rarely updend completely when feeding and tend to dip just their head or skim the surface of the water with their bill. Teals feed by upending, dabbling, or grazing. It may also submerge its head completely, and occasionally dives. Irby, L. H. (1861). "Notes on birds observed in Oudh and Kumaon". Ibis. 3 (2): 217–251. doi: 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1861.tb07456.x. Hoage, R. J.; Deiss, William A. (1996). New Worlds, New Animals. Johns Hopkins University Press. p.148. ISBN 0-8018-5373-7.

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Red-crested pochard ( Netta rufina) – 10-21 pairs/500 words – introduced (also occurs naturally as a wanderer from mainland Europe) Distribution: Widespread in England and along the Welsh coast during winter but more restricted to east and north-east England and the Midlands during summer, with some populations in parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and the south coast of England. Shovelers feed by swimming slowly across water, skimming the surface from side to side with its bill. It sometimes submerges its head. They often feed in groups, swimming in circles to churn up the water and bring food to the surface. Blanford WT (1898). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 4. Taylor and Francis, London. pp.425–426.