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Garganey (Spatula querquedula) — photo 1 of 3
© Charles J. Sharp CC BY-SA 4.0

Ducks, geese, and swans · Waterfowl

Garganey

Spatula querquedula

Year-round

Voice

Song

Sonothèque ADVL

0:12

Song

Pascal Christe

0:52

Song

Jochem verweij

0:07

How to recognize it

  • Small duck, a bit larger and darker than Common Teal

  • Male: broad white stripe above the eye on a brown head

  • In flight: pale blue wing patch with a white border; quick, twisting takeoff

  • Male call: dry crackling rattle

About the species

Garganey is a small, active duck with a neat shape and a voice you notice quickly. In spring, the drake is easiest to remember by the broad white stripe above the eye rather than by the rest of its plumage.

It moves briskly and can lift off the water almost at once, with fast, twisting flight. The male gives a dry, crackling call, while the female is usually quieter but can still make a short quack.

It breeds around shallow lakes, grassy floodplains, and quiet waters with low, reed-filled edges. In the breeding season it feeds mainly on animal food, especially mollusks, then shifts more toward seeds and other plant matter later in the year; for winter it leaves entirely and heads far south.

Where to find

  • At quiet ponds and small lakes with reedy edges — especially in shallow water, where Garganey stays in pairs and gives a dry crackling call from the surface.

  • Along marshy canal banks and floodplain edges — where wet grass meets sedges, it can lift off almost without a run, flashing past in a quick twist.

  • By rain-fed puddles on open lawns, vacant lots, and rough meadow edges — look for dabbling on the surface, picking food with short, busy motions.

  • In riverfront parks with old ponds and broad grassy margins — a drake may circle a female, bobbing its head as it swims.

You might also see

Sources