Gogol duck: description and lifestyle, habitats and diet, taste

The wild duck, called the goldeneye, is one of the representatives of ducks living in the forest zones of the Northern Hemisphere. The habitat is heterogeneous, that is, in some places this waterfowl is found in abundance, in others it is rare, and on the territory of some European countries, the places of duck settlement are closely connected with uninhabited or protected forest areas.

Where did the species come from

There is a goldeneye duck both in Eurasia and in America, but it is North America that is considered its homeland. From here, her ancestors migrated to Asia, and then spread throughout the rest of the lands up to the western extremities of Europe.This is a diving duck, which is not very numerous, but not rare either.

It is believed that there are two subspecies of goldeneye duck:

North American, larger.
Eurasian.

There are no significant differences in appearance, behavior and nutrition. A nest is used as a nest, birds prefer the shores of forest rivers and lakes, do not form large flocks for flight, winter on the coasts of seas and lakes, large rivers, estuaries.

Description of the bird

The goldeneye duck is a medium-sized bird, not exceeding 50 centimeters in length, strong, stocky, with a rounded head with noticeable feather "cheeks" and a smooth oval "tuft". As is common with birds, female goldeneye ducks are smaller than males and have a more modest coloration.

They have a grayish-brown hue of plumage, a light brown head, a white stripe around the neck, yellowish paws, some individuals have a light orange bandage on the beak.The weight of a duck ranges from 550 to 810 grams. Young goldeneyes have the same colors, regardless of their gender.

Males are distinguished by their bright mating attire. Their lower body, sides and neck are snow-white, the top is black with peculiar stripes formed by wing feathers. The black head of the gogol duck has a characteristic "gasoline" overflow, and there are white spots on the cheeks. The beak is black, the paws are painted orange. The mass of a drake is from 570 to 900 grams.

Chicks are very similar to the broods of other wild ducks. They are fluffy, grayish-brown with a black and white blurry pattern.

Lifestyle and habitat

Duck goldeneye prefers forest lakes, rivers, reservoirs, supplying them with food and shelter. Birds choose places where there are old hollow trees along the banks, which are necessary for nesting, but they also calmly settle in artificial nests created for them by people.The goldeneye duck does not like open places, therefore it is practically never found in the "naked" river floodplains.

For nests, the bird prefers to choose deciduous trees, but can also use conifers, such as pine. In the presence of a large number of hollows, the goldeneye duck prefers to maintain a distance between nesting sites, but, if necessary, puts up with forced crowding.

These are migratory birds, however, under favorable weather conditions and with an abundant food supply, they can remain for the winter. Most often, these are single pairs of ducks or small groups of up to 5-6 individuals. There are a few sedentary flocks of birds in the northwestern part of Europe.

Ducks fly away early, from the end of August, but most of the birds go on a trip in the second half of October. They huddle in small flocks of 10-30 birds each.

In a number of countries, the goldeneye duck is considered a game bird, but in Belarus it is listed in the Red Book.

What do they eat?

The diet of the goldeneye duck consists of aquatic invertebrates, which it catches at the bottom of a reservoir or in the water column. The duck is capable of diving to a depth of 10 meters, but prefers to settle on rivers and lakes with water up to 4 meters.

In winter, birds actively eat these molluscs and crustaceans. In summer, the menu of goldeneye ducks is much more diverse. It includes bloodworms (mosquito larvae), midges, dragonflies, caddisflies, water beetles and other insects. Ducks also eat small fish, amphibians and earthworms, collect seeds and plant roots, and can peck at the green succulent parts of aquatic plants.

Reproduction and longevity

Birds arrive early, back in March. At the same time, the mating season of goldeneye ducks also begins.Most often, future pairs are laid during wintering, but many goldeneyes find their soul mate already in nesting sites. The sexual maturity of the duck falls on the age of two. The period of "grooming" in birds is very bright and expressive. It was then that the drakes take a characteristic pose with a proudly protruding chest and a lifted head, which gave rise to the expression "gogol".

Nests duck duck begins to build in the middle or end of spring, choosing trees with hollows at a height of 10 to 15 meters. Prefers free-standing trees, but can also use artificial nests, and sometimes even abandoned burrows, such as hare burrows. Often the nest is operated by the same pair or female for several years or decades in a row.

The bottom of the nest is covered with wood dust and laid out with fluff, which the female plucks from her own breast. A clutch can contain from 5 to 13 eggs, but more often the average number is 8-11. They are painted in a bluish or greenish-blue hue, large, up to 67 millimeters long and up to 46 millimeters wide.

Only the female incubates, the process lasts 29-30 days. The hatched chicks are wet, they dry out under the duck for 24 hours, then jump out of the nest on their own, regardless of the height. Already after 14 days, ducklings swim and dive regularly, they can feed themselves without needing adult supervision, but they become winged only by two months. In nature, the goldeneye duck can live up to 20 years.

Taste

Duck goldeneye belongs to the category of waterfowl. The meat has a characteristic taste and smell associated with the consumption of a specific food. To remove them from the carcass, ducks are skinned and fat removed, and then soaked for a day in a marinade based on wine vinegar.

When fried or baked, this bird is very tasty. The gogol duck does not differ in special nutritional and taste value, it does not belong to the “red game”, however, it can serve as a decoration for any table.

Gogol eggs are tasty, but only a few eggs can be taken from the nest and only in those areas where the number of ducks is high. When using, you need to take into account the risk of infection with salmonella and other parasites, so duck eggs are used only after heat treatment.