And for this #featheredfriday, straight from Iceland, ducks it is!
I visited this amazing country in January, and a partially frozen lake in the middle of Reykjavik provided a great birdwatching opportunity! Several species of the Anatidae family (the family of birds that includes ducks, swans and geese) were hanging around.
Among a few of the most common seen birds, such as the common goose Anser Anser, and the mallard Anas platyrhynchos, one of my favourite ducks was swimming:
Tufted ducks are diving ducks, meaning that instead of feeding at the water surface, they dive to feed. There is sexual dimorphism on this species. Males are very, very easy to identify: all black, with white flanks. They have tuft on the back of the head, which is the origin of their name. But what really stands out for me, are their eyes: they have beautiful golden eyes, that contrast greatly with their black heads!
Females, as what is common in most birds, has less colourful plummage, brown with flanks a little paler. The tuft is very tiny, and although it has the same beautiful golden eye, it doesn't have the same contrast as in the males (I'm glad i'm not a duck, and females in my species are a lot cuter than males! :)
And on the outskirts of the city, a small pearl for me: I really like seeing species that don't exist in my home country, and this one was a novelty:
A curiosity about this one: you've probably rested your head on this bird's feathers, since the downfeathers of this duck are largely used for the filling of pillows and duvets!
A large group of males and females can be seen here; obvious sexual dimorphism as well, the males being the colourful ones, with the white body and dark flanks.
Have you seen these before? Happy birding everyone!
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Hi pardinus,
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Wow this one I wasn't expecting! Thank you @curie!!
Wow, what a pretty ducks. I've not seen most of them and tufted duck is something that makes me fall in love with her. So lovely and cute she is :) Just to mention, I've always been fascinated by the ducks and with their evolutionary habit to flap their wings to release the energy build-up, whenever they get into a fight.
Thanks for sharing. It was a lovely read.
Thank you for visiting, glad you liked them! :)
First of all, let me say great work for all those amazing pictures in there of the birds. Your write up on the other hand was really a thing worth reading and i really enjoyed every second i spent on your blog. Great work and keep it up
Thank you for the feedback and for the visit!
You are welcome
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Hello sir💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
Thanks for you sir
Thank you guys!
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You captured fantastic shots of the ducks. I haven’t seen the tuffed ducks here.
Thank you fellow minnow! 😉
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Excellent shots, I really like the Tufted ducks, I haven't seen them before. Thanks for posting in Feathered Friday! Voted and resteemed :-)
The eye contrast in the males is awesome. If I see them again I'll try and get a good head shot. Thanks!
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So many beautiful ducks! That photo of the tufted duck is wonderful! !Tip
Thank you @melinda010100! It seems I'll finally be able to do some birdwatching on the next weekend, maybe I'll see them again here!
I was remembering hearing a Nightingale when I was in Portugal. The only time I have ever heard one and I was enchanted! Hope you get to see and photograph some great birds!
You'll know for sure, I'm bound to post them if I see them 😁😉
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Winners Shadow Photo Contest-- Round 61- Figurine/Action Figureshadows@melinda010100 wrote lately about: Feel free to follow @melinda010100 if you like it :)
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🎁 Hi @pardinus! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @melinda010100!Eh... that duck with yellow eyes looks like a psycho in that pic.... don't ever make 'em angry!! hahaha
Maybe that's why I'm so fond of them; love that look! ;)