About this species
The White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala) is a compact, stiff-tailed diving duck. Breeding males are unmistakable, with a white head, swollen blue bill, and dark brown body. Females and non-breeding males are duller, with a dark cap and pale cheek stripe.
The species favours shallow, eutrophic lakes with dense marginal vegetation for nesting. Central Asian populations breed in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and winter south to Pakistan, Iran and the eastern Mediterranean.
Habitat loss, hunting, and genetic swamping through hybridisation with the introduced North American Ruddy Duck (O. jamaicensis) have driven severe declines. Coordinated Ruddy Duck eradication programmes in Europe have reduced the hybridisation threat in the western range.
