The Ruddy Shelduck, Tadorna ferruginea, is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae. In India it is known as the Brahminy Duck.

There are very small resident populations of this species in north west Africa and Ethiopia, but the main breeding area
of this species is from south east Europe across central Asia to southeast China. These birds are mostly migratory,
wintering in southern Asia.

.Although becoming quite rare in southeast Europe and southern Spain, the Ruddy Shelduck is still common across
much of its Asian range. It may be this population which gives rise to vagrants as far west as Iceland, Great Britain
and Ireland. However, since the European population is declining, it is likely that most occurrences in western Europe
in recent decades are escapes or feral birds. Although this bird is observed in the wild from time to time in eastern North
America, no evidence of a genuine vagrant has been found.

Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre, Gloucestershire, England.The Ruddy
Shelduck is a distinctive species, 58–70 cm long with a 110–135 cm wingspan. It has orange-brown body plumage and
a paler head. The wings are white with black flight feathers. It swims well, and in flight looks heavy, more like a goose than
a duck. The sexes of this striking species are similar, but the male has a black ring at the bottom of the neck in the breeding
season summer, and the female often has a white face patch. The call are is a loud wild honking.

In captivity this species is generally aggressive and antisocial and is best housed in pairs unless in a very large area.
Then it may mix with other species, although it will still be feisty at breeding time.

This is a 64 cm long bird which breeds in southern Africa, mainly in Namibia and South Africa. In the southern winter,
many birds move north-east from the breeding range to favoured moulting grounds, where sizable concentrations occur.

This species is mainly associated with lakes and rivers in fairly open country, breeding in disused mammal holes, usually
those of the Aardvark.

Adult Cape Shelduck have ruddy bodies and wings strikingly marked with black, white and green. The male has a grey
head, and the female has a white face and black crown, nape and neck sides.

The genus name Tadorna comes from Celtic roots and means "pied waterfowl", essentially the same as the English
"shelduck".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Shelduck

Other names of the Australian shelduck are Chestnut-breasted Shelduck or Mountain Shelduck. The male has a metallic
black head and neck, white ring seperates chestnut breast and mantle; the upper back, scapulars and abdomen are black,
finely lined with buff or white; the tail, lower back and rump are black. Bill, legs and feet are black as well. Females are
often smaller and much duller than males, with white patch around eye and white ring at the base of the bill.

They range south-western and south-eastern Australia, Tasmania, where they live on freshwater and brackish lakes.
In aviculture it is a common species, which breeds in half-buried nestboxes, as the other shelducks do as well.
In the wild they breed from June to September; in captivity from May to July. Adults breed when they are two to three
years old and lay 8 up to 14 eggs, which hatch after 30 days. They can be aggressive during the breeding season
(and even kill other ducks and geese), therefore it would be wise to house pairs seperate from other species.
Text by Dan Cowell at Jan Harteman

Most paradise duck start breeding when 2 years old and pairs remain together from year to year, returning to the same
nesting area. If one bird dies, its mate occupies the same territory and re-mates again.

The Crested Shelduck or Korean Crested Shelduck, Tadorna cristata, is a species of bird in the family Anatidae.
It is critically endangered and believed by some to be extinct. The male Crested Shelduck has a greenish-black crown,
breast, primaries, and tail, while the rest of its face, chin, and throat are brownish black. The male's belly, undertail coverts,
and flanks are a dark grey with black striations. The upper wing coverts are white, while its speculum is an iridescent green.
The female has a white eye ring, black crest, white face, chin, throat, neck, and uppers wing coverts and a dark brown
body with white striations. Both sexes also have a distinctive green tuft of feathers protruding from the head.

Very little is known about this bird because of the limited number of observations of this species. It apparently bred in
Korea and eastern Russia and was probably a relict species that had a wider distribution in prehistoric times.
Some think that this species is extinct, although occasional sightings are reported, including a number of recent reports
from the interior wetlands of China. Due to the persistent reports of the species' survival, it is listed as critically endangered. However, it has not been definitively sighted since 1964.

The Crested Shelduck has been collected near Vladivostok in Russia and near Fusan and Kunsan in Korea.
It has been proposed that the species breeds in far-eastern Russia, northern North Korea, and northeast China and
winters in southern Japan, southwest Korea, and along the east China coast as far south as Shanghai.

This species is believed to live in a wide variety of wetland and deep-water habitats at varying elevations.
While all collected individuals are from the coast, especially near river mouths, recently there have been a number
of reports from interior wetlands in northeastern China. It has been speculated that this species may breed in
mountainous areas either away from water or on volcanic lakes.

Though not much is known about this shelduck, it is believed to be migratory, traveling from Siberia in the breeding
season to Korea, southern Russia, and Japan for the winter. The Crested Shelduck is believed to eat aquatic vegetation,
agricultural crops, algae, invertebrates, mollusks, crustaceans, carrion, and garbage. It has been suggested that this
shelduck may be a nocturnal feeder. While its nest has not been described, similar shelducks nest in burrows and cavities and it has also been suggested that this species may nest in tree cavities. The bird is also suggested to lay less than ten
eggs which the female alone incubates. It is believed to breed from May to July.The shelduck has been observed
in flocks of two to eight birds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_Shelduck

The Crested Shelduck was never numerous in modern times, though it is thought to have been more widespread
historically. The species is known from only a handful of sightings and some declared it extinct in 1916 after a
female was shot at Busan, South Korea. In 1943, a sighting of this bird was reported near Chushinhokudo,
building hopes that the species persisted. A group of three birds was sighted in 1964 in the Rimsky-Korsakov
Archipelago near Vladivostok with a small flock of Harlequin Ducks. In 1971 it was reported from North Korea's
northeast coast and in 1985 two were reported from eastern Russia. However, there are severe doubts about the
accuracy of the 1971 record. A recent survey of Chinese hunters resulted in a number of unconfirmed reports from
northeastern China. There are also unconfirmed reports of about twenty Crested Shelducks in the Dashanbao
region of Yunnan, though many believe this flock to be a misidentified flock of Ruddy Shelducks.
It is believed that, if the species survives, there likely are fewer than 50 individuals.

This species is threatened with extinction due to habitat loss, hunting, and overcollecting. Recently, a Chinese forest
worker claimed that he unknowingly ate two in 1984. In an attempt to gather reports of this species and raise
awareness so that they are not eaten, 300,000 leaflets were distributed in Russia, Japan, China, South Korea, and
North Korea in 1983, with the only resulting report being the 1971 North Korea record. 15,000 leaflets were
distributed in northeastern China in 1985 and 1991. While this garnered 82 reports of the species, follow-up surveys
of the area failed to find the shelduck.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_Shelduck

The Raja Shelduck or Radjah Shelduck (Tadorna radjah) (in Australia also known as Burdekin Duck) is a species of shelduck.

Both the male and female of the species are mostly white, with dark wingtips and a distinctive "collar" of dark feathers.
Seen from above in flight, the birds have green bands on the tops of their wings. The female has a harsh rattle and the
male has a breathy, sore-throat whistle.

The Rajh Shelduck inhabits the mangrove forests and coastline of New Guinea and Australia. In Australia, its primary
range is coastal tropical northern Australia, from central Queensland through northern Northern Territory
(including Kakadu National Park) to the Kimberley in Western Australia.

The species prefers the brackish waters of mangrove flats and paperbark tree swamps, but will visit freshwater swamps,
lagoons, and billabongs further inland during the wet season.

The Radjah Shelduck forms long-term pair-bonds, and is usually encountered in lone pairs or small flocks.
During the wet season the males commonly become very irritable, and have been observed attacking their mates.

The diet consists mainly of mollusks, insects, sedge materials and algae. Pairs start searching for nesting sites during the
months of January and February. They nest close to their primary food source, often in the hollow limbs of trees,
which makes habitat destruction a particular issue.

Radjah Shelduck does not use nesting materials except for some self-supplied down feathers. Egg-laying is usually done
by May or June, but depends on the extent of the wet season. The clutches range from 6 to 12 eggs. Incubation time is
about 30 days.

The Raja Shelduck is listed as a protected bird in all states of Australia and penalties exist for harming or disturbing them.