Ferruginous duck
Aythya nyroca (Güldenstädt, 1770)
The ferruginous duck (Aythya nyroca), also called the White-eyed pochard, is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae and the order Anseriformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 574 g, ranging from 520 to 586 g, and a wingspan of 65 cm.
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Quick facts about the ferruginous duck
This migratory, aquatic herbivore lives in wetland habitat across a geographic range of 6,828,000 km². The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Near Threatened, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 520 g – 586 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 63 cm – 67 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 8.71 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 9 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 26 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 9src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 11.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the ferruginous duck?
Photos of the ferruginous duck
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
,_Parc_du_Rouge-Clo%C3%AEtre,_Bruxelles_-_Flickr_-_Frank.Vassen.jpg){kind=link}
Where does the ferruginous duck live?
Not recorded
What is the ferruginous duck?
The ferruginous duck (Aythya nyroca), also known as the ferruginous pochard, common white-eye or white-eyed pochard, is a medium-sized diving duck native to the Palearctic. The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek word, αἴθυιᾰ (aithuia), an unknown seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and the Russian word, нырок (nyrok), the Russian word for pochard, which occurs in the bird's Russian common name.
From the Wikipedia article “Ferruginous duck” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ferruginous_duck&oldid=1377646246), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the ferruginous duck endangered?
The ferruginous duck is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the ferruginous duck classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusAythya
- SpeciesAythya nyroca (Güldenstädt, 1770)
Synonyms Anas nyroca, Anas rufa, Aythya nyroca nyroca, Nyroca ferruginea, Nyroca leucophthalma, Nyroca nyroca, Nyroca rufa
Other names and names in other languages (108)
- Common white-eyeEnglish
- Common white-eyed duckEnglish
- FEDUEnglish
- Ferruginous pochardEnglish
- Ferruginous white-eyeEnglish
- Ferruginous white-eyed duckEnglish
- White-eyed pochardEnglish
- بط حديديArabic
- البط الصدئيArabic
- بطة حديديةArabic
- Cabezudo pardoAragonese
- কাকলি হাঁহAssamese
- Coríu FerruñosuAsturian
- coríu calón ferruñosuAsturian
- Ağgöz dalğıcAzerbaijani
- МәрйенгүҙBashkir
- Нырок белавокіBelarusian
- Белавокая чэрнецьBelarusian
- Белавокi нырокBelarusian
- Белоока потапницаBulgarian
- মরচেরঙ ভুতিহাঁসBangla
- Morilhon gellruzBreton
- morell xocolaterCatalan
- Пӗчӗк улачаChuvash
- polák malýCzech
- Hwyaden gochdduWelsh
- hwyaden lygadwenWelsh
- Hwyaid LlygadwynWelsh
- hvidøjet andDanish
- MoorenteGerman
- Rathu ReyruDivehi
- ΒαλτόπαπιαGreek
- Ευρωπαϊκή ΒαλτόπαπιαGreek
- rusta merganasoEsperanto
- Blankokula anasoEsperanto
- Porrón pardoSpanish
- Valgesilm-vartEstonian
- valgesilm-vart e. ruskevartEstonian
- Murgilari arreBasque
- اردک بلوطیPersian
- اردک بلوطی غواصPersian
- ruskosotkaFinnish
- Hvítoygd ontFaroese
- Fuligule nyrocaFrench
- Póiseard ferruginousIrish
- Laagh hooill-vaneScottish Gaelic
- póiseard súilbhánScottish Gaelic
- Patka njorka - Патка њоркаSerbian (Latin)
- צולל ביצותHebrew
- cigányréceHungarian
- Սուզաբադ սպիտակաաչքArmenian
- Սպիտակաաչք սուզաբադArmenian
- JarpöndIcelandic
- moretta tabaccataItalian
- メジロガモJapanese
- თეთრთვალა ყურყუმელაGeorgian
- Алакөз сүңгуірKazakh
- 적갈색흰죽지Korean
- MouerintLuxembourgish
- rudėLithuanian
- paprastoji rudėLithuanian
- baltacisLatvian
- црн кожуварMacedonian
- വെള്ളക്കണ്ണി എരണ്ടMalayalam
- Brajmla t' Għajnha BajdaMaltese
- Ундар шумбуурMongolian
- नयनसरी बदकMarathi
- HviøyeandNorwegian Bokmål
- मालक हाँसNepali
- witoogeendDutch
- kvitaugeandNorwegian Nynorsk
- hvitøyeandNorwegian
- podgorzałkaPolish
- podgorzałka (zwyczajna)Polish
- Podgorzałka zwyczajnaPolish
- فیروگینس بطخWestern Panjabi
- perraPortuguese
- pêrraPortuguese
- zarro-castanhoPortuguese
- Anda da palìRomansh
- raţa roşieRomanian
- raţă roşieRomanian
- Rață roșieRomanian
- Белоглазый нырокRussian
- Чернеть белоглазаяRussian
- хохлатая чернетьRussian
- Чернеть циґаньскаRusyn
- VilgesčalmfiehtaNorthern Sami
- vilgesčalbmefiehtaNorthern Sami
- chochlačka bielookáSlovak
- kostanjevkaSlovenian
- Kryekuqe e vogëlAlbanian
- kryekuqja e vogëlAlbanian
- Patka njorkaSerbian
- Патка њоркаSerbian
- Патка црнка (Patka crnka)Serbian
- vitögd dykandSwedish
- Bata Macho-meupeSwahili
- Vellai kan KaliyanTamil
- เป็ดดำหัวสีน้ำตาลThai
- AkgözTurkish
- pasbas patkaTurkish
- pasbaş patkaTurkish
- Чернь білоокаUkrainian
- MoretaVenetian
- Vịt nâu đỏVietnamese
- 白眼潛鴨Chinese
- 白眼潜鸭Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the ferruginous duck
Other species in the same genus Aythya.
Tufted duck
Aythya fuligula
Common pochard
Aythya ferina
Greater scaup
Aythya marila
Ring-necked duck
Aythya collaris
Lesser scaup
Aythya affinis
Baer's pochard
Aythya baeri
CompareFerruginous duck vs Tufted duckFerruginous duck vs Common pochardFerruginous duck vs Greater scaupFerruginous duck vs Ring-necked duck
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the ferruginous duck?
The ferruginous duck is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup. It belongs to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.
How heavy is the ferruginous duck?
An adult Ferruginous duck weighs 574 g, with reported values from 520 to 586 g. Its wingspan is 65 cm.
What does the ferruginous duck eat?
The ferruginous duck is a herbivore.
What habitat does the ferruginous duck live in?
The ferruginous duck lives in wetland habitat and has an aquatic lifestyle. It is migratory.
Is the ferruginous duck endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses the ferruginous duck globally as Near Threatened, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the ferruginous duck live?
The ferruginous duck has a lifespan of 8.7 years, with values up to 9 years reported by sources.
How many eggs does the ferruginous duck lay?
The ferruginous duck lays 9 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 26 days.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Ferruginous duck (Aythya nyroca). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ferruginous-duck
“Ferruginous duck (Aythya nyroca).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ferruginous-duck.
@misc{ferruginous_duck_2026,
title = {Ferruginous duck (Aythya nyroca)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ferruginous-duck},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}