Common Shelduck

Tadorna tadorna

Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Presence in the Strait: Seasonal
Abundance: scarce
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Tarro blanco

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

Length: 58–71 cm
Wingspan: 110–113 cm
Weight: 1,000–1,250 g

Presence in the Strait

Scarce winter visitor to wetlands (<25).

Identification

Unmistakable. Medium-sized with striking plumage pattern. The female is smaller and lacks bill-knob. Juveniles have brown-grey crown and upperparts, underparts wholly white.

Movements

The first arrive towards the middle of October, last leaving at the end of February.

Ring recoveries

France (6).

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

16 %

Peak in December. 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: 3 January 1989
Latest record: 6 January 2026

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: 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

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

France6

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Ruddy Shelduck61–67 cm · Vagrant · 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: 2498009

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: MPF, 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

Common Shelduck

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery