Tadorna tadorna; the Shelduck is a relative new breeding bird on Iceland. They are more or less common on the British Isles, the coastal regions of western and southern Europe and further east in the Middle-East all the way to China. They first settled on Iceland around Borgarnes, but I have seen they are spreading in other western coastal regions of Iceland. In fact the photos shown were from the west coast of the Reykjanes peninsula and it was clearly a breeding couple.
The sexes are quite similar (the male though has a very distinctive notch above its beak). They are also quite large. Thus, as a duck, they have rather goose-like features.
BIRDS OF ICELAND : Tadorna tadorna, Shelduck
A brief introduction to Iceland birds
Text & Photographs by Dick Vuijk
- unless stated otherwise
Text & Photographs by Dick Vuijk
- unless stated otherwise
Other Waterfowl species
Other Waterfowl species