Ruddy Shelduck

Tadorna ferruginea

Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Presence in the Strait: Vagrant
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Tarro canelo

Photograph: Davidvraju, CC BY-SA 4.0, vía Wikimedia Commons

Length: 61–67 cm
Wingspan: 121–145 cm
Weight: 1,300 g

Presence in the Strait

Accidental. One bird caught at La Janda in February, 1955. One bird on the12th & 13.04.88 and two on 19.11.89 at the Marismas del Palmones. One bird on 5.04.90 at Ceuta.

Identification

The same size as a Shelduck with uniform orange-brown colouring. Breeding males have a black neck-ring. It breeds in Morocco and Eastern Europe. In the past it bred on the Iberian Peninsula. Anatidae Ánsar Común Ánsar Careto Barnacla Cariblanca Tarro Canelo

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

50 %

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: 5 April 1990
Latest record: 17 March 2023

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: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: VU · Vulnerable (Canary Islands) · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Annex I of the Birds Directive

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.

Same genus in the Strait

Common Shelduck58–71 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
GBIF taxon key: 2498015

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Davidvraju, CC BY-SA 4.0, vía Wikimedia Commons
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Ruddy Shelduck

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Gallery