Red-crested Pochard

Netta rufina

Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Presence in the Strait: Occasional
IUCN (global): LC · Least concern
In Spanish: Pato colorado

Photograph: Diego González Dopico, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 53–57 cm
Wingspan: 84–88 cm
Weight: 1,150 g

Presence in the Strait

Occasional. Ten records (12 birds) throughout March-April (5), July-August (3) and October-November (4): 6 at the River Guadiaro estuary, 4 at Marismas del Palmones, 1 at Guadalquitón and 1 at Tarifa.

Identification

Male has red bill and orange head. Female has certain similarity to the female Common Scoter but with pale brown body. In flight, broad white wing-bars.

Ring recoveries

Huelva (4).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

28 %

Peak in March. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 31 March 1996
Latest record: 25 November 2024

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Not included
Spanish Catalogue: Not included
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: LC · Least concern · breeding — LC · Least concern · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Where they come from

4 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Spain4

See the journey on the map

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
GBIF taxon key: 2498180

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Diego González Dopico, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Red-crested Pochard

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Ring recoveries

Gallery