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The red-nosed dive is a rather large bird from the order of Anseriformes, its weight reaches 1.5 kilograms. The male dive has an extraordinary appeal in the spring, when it comes time to choose a bride. On the eve of the mating season, the plumage of a feathered handsome man is covered with a bright set of colors, expressed by contrasting combinations. The head of the male has a color consisting of a very bright red color with darker stripes around the eyes. Its beak and paws acquire a bright red tint, the belly and chest of the bird get a rich black color with a characteristic tint, and white oval spots appear on the wings of the dive.
The female has a more modest outfit, characterized by its monotony. Its plumage is painted in an inconspicuous light brown color, only the lower part of the bird and its cheeks are marked by lighter areas.In summer, the male also prefers to dress in a more modest decoration, in the manner of his girlfriend. It is distinguished in summer by a darker bottom and a dark brown head.
Individual abilities that distinguish a river bird
The dive swims perfectly, but he does not like to dive and does it much less frequently than other dives, and it turns out that he is much worse. Although, in comparison with ducks, it may seem like a virtuoso of this type of hunting. Starting from the water is worse for him than for ducks, but among dives he is an absolute champion.
The male of the red-nosed dive does not like to make noise in vain, the sound that it makes is more like a quiet whistle, you can only hear it in the spring. In case of danger, the dive with an enviable speed is able to move through the water, with only the neck and head of the bird visible on the surface. His style of swimming, he resembles a loon.
Habitats of the red-nosed dive
This type of bird has received its distribution from the coast of Portugal and the islands of the Mediterranean Sea to the central regions of Asia. On the territory of Central Asia in the mating season, these birds are found in large numbers on freshwater lakes surrounded by reed thickets located in the desert zone. Nesting large populations of the red-nosed diving can be found in the lower reaches of the Volga and Amu Darya, as well as the Syr Darya and Tugai, in smaller quantities this bird is found in the basin of the Chu River or the southern part of Balkhash.
In the cities of Western Europe, this bird can often be found in the park, if it is located reservoir. She is a migratory bird, and only in some cases can lead a sedentary lifestyle, abandoning seasonal migrations.
The favorite habitats of the red-nosed dive are small freshwater lakes, whose coast is covered with reed beds and small shoals. Large bodies of water, like bodies of salt water, do not at all attract this bird.
Features molt of this dive are no different from other ducks. The first molt period are the drakes, during this period they gather in flocks,that form in the open shallows of the lakes. The period of molting females comes later, during the hatching of chicks. Having learned to fly, young individuals make the first flights between the lakes, later they will have to gather in large flocks in the company of adult birds that have grown new plumage.
The period of seasonal flights at the red-nosed dive lasts throughout October, up to the beginning of November. Having settled down in wintering areas, these birds try to stick to open water, far from the coast, only worsening weather can force them to move to shallow water.
Diving Diet
Red-diving dives prefer a vegetarian diet, vegetable food fully satisfies their claims in the summer. They prefer all sorts of greenery, various algae, leaves and young shoots of plants. Going ashore, they pluck juicy stalks of grass, do not refuse fruits or berries. While in wintering places, dives become less discriminating, at which time they easily eat insect larvae, various freshwater mollusks, and in rare cases even fish.Red-diving divers are accustomed to feed on the water surface, and they dive extremely rarely and with great reluctance.
Video: Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina)
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