Duck Turpan: description and habitat, what it eats and life expectancy

In Eurasia, the northern regions of America and Africa, the scoter lives - a rare duck, the largest representative of wild ducks. Turpans were once a popular commercial species, valued for their fatty meat and high-quality fluff, suitable for long-term exploitation, which seriously affected their numbers. Today, the species is protected by law, which should contribute to the restoration of the population.

Appearance of Turpan duck

The appearance of the scoter is mournful, ornithologists and hunters call the bird a sad duck. The physique is large, dense and fleshy, the head is large, the neck is long.

The external characteristics of males and females are shown in the table.

beakshort, flattened, with large and noticeable nostrils, black from edge to nostrils, then to the base orange with black edging, pronounced hump at the base longer, black-gray, no humppawsshort, thick bones, rich red, close to the tail, wide webs between the fingers yellow-orange, less wide webs brown with specks, flight feathers also do not form white "mirrors" up to 1.2kg 50-55 cm voiceunpleasant squeaky quacking, complemented by wheezing and hissing, sometimes similar to crow croaks and sighs with clicksburr, hoarse-hissing quack

Parameter	Male	Female
eyes	pale gray, almost white , in combination with the dark coloring of the feathers, they give the bird a mournful and sad look, white spots are visible under the eyes

	color	rich black, with a bluish tint, white flight feathers on the sides form the so-called "mirror"
	body length	52-58cm

The genus Turpan is divided into several species, similar anatomically and in appearance, in general, fit into the description indicated in the table. The species differ from the common scoter only in small nuances of appearance and range:

Hook-nosed scoter. In males, the black plumage casts iridescent, blue-violet and green shades are noticeable. White spots under the eyes are larger, capture the back of the head. The name is due to the wider nostrils and convex hump. Original range - taiga lakes.
Party-nosed scoter. Small duck weighing about 1 kg. The peculiarity of appearance is the color of the beak: white spots and red patterns on a black base. The voice of the birds is a quiet quack with a whistle. Habitats - lakes of Canada, northern USA, coniferous forests of Alaska.
Singa (black turpan). The duck weighs a maximum of 1.3 kg. The beak is decorated with a yellow spot. The tail is long, with a sharp end.There are no white "mirrors" on the sides. In the cold season, both drakes and females are dark grey-brown. With the advent of spring, males put on a mourning black outfit. The range covers Eurasia from the British to the Kuril Islands, stretches from Scandinavia in the north to the Mediterranean coast of Africa in the south.

Habitat and lifestyle

Turpan duck prefers to settle on lakes surrounded by mountains and coniferous forests. A significant part of the population leads a settled life in Georgian and Armenian reservoirs. The winter is spent in regions with a temperate climate; they fly away from the northern nesting sites in late October and November. Departure begins later than for other wild waterfowl, and return to nesting sites is observed in May, when the northern waters are freed from the ice cover.

Turpan duck nests in small ponds. During the migratory period, birds can be seen on the rivers. Movement on the water is dexterous and swift, a duck swims with a protruding chest and a raised head.

Bird Character

Despite the gloomy plumage, the duck is calm, non-aggressive, not inclined to conflict with other feathered species. Turpans are careful, they never approach human habitation.

Thanks to the ability to dive, Turpans deftly escape from the birds of prey chasing them: they fall vertically into the water, hiding in its thickness. Having stopped at the sea, they can swim at a considerable distance from the coast.

Duck gets food in the water, deftly dives, and can dive to a depth of 10 m, hold out there for up to a minute. But Turpans fly heavily, slowly, with effort take off from the water surface, in flight they keep close to the earth's surface.

What does it eat?

Main food for scoter:

small fish;
shellfish;
underwater vegetation;
insects and larvae.

That is, the Turpan duck is an omnivore, it consumes both plant and animal food. Hunting under water, the duck swims remarkably, rowing not only with paws with wide membranes, but also with spread wings. When the feeding area runs out of food, the scoter roam, fly to another feeding area.

Duck breeding

Duck pairs form in late winter or early spring. Birds arrive at nesting sites in pairs. If during the flight the females fight off the flock, then the drakes slow down, wait for them. Group current. To court females, males surround them. The drake dives under the water to quietly get close to the chosen female.The next day, the fertilized duck circles low above the ground, quacking loudly, thereby notifying that it is about to lay eggs. The nest is insulated with its own fluff, so it looks shabby during the laying period.

Duck builds a nest right on the ground near the water. Often the nest of the scoter can be seen in the colony of gulls. During the season, the duck makes one clutch - in the second half of June, sits on it for about a month. The number of eggs is not the same for different types of turpans, but, on average, there are 7 of them. Eggs are oval, white or light beige. The hatched chicks are almost naked, weighing up to 55 g.

Due to the late laying, the ducklings are still quite small by the beginning of August. Males do not stay with females for a long time, they fly away to the place of molting. Due to the weak development of the maternal instinct, the females also leave the young early, reunite with the males a few days after the chicks peck.And the young have to survive and feed on their own.

Many chicks die from hunger and predators, some manage to cling to the offspring of other waterfowl.

At the end of October, the surviving young flock in flocks, preparing to fly south. There are no old ducks in the flocks, since they flew to the place of molting earlier. But young Turpans are well oriented in flight, do not get lost on the way to the wintering place.

Lifespan

It is not easy for Turpans to survive not only because of predators and other dangers of wildlife, but also because of poaching. Few individuals survive to adulthood. Life expectancy is 13 years.

Conservation status

Turpans have long been hunted by the peoples of the north. The hunting season began at the end of May and June, when the returning birds circled low over the waters, preparing to nest in the chosen place.

Turpan is a cautious but stupid duck. To lure her to a hunter is easy. So, northern miners bleated like lambs, and these sounds really attracted birds. Western hunters acted more cunningly: they made a stuffed scoter, took it to the reservoir, and the birds mistook the fake for a living relative. It was customary for northern peoples to store dead carcasses right on the icy surface of the reservoir, covered with moss.

Today hunting for Turpans is prohibited, the species is inscribed in the Red Book as endangered and in need of protection. The number of birds around the world does not exceed 4.5 thousand individuals. Although, thanks to the conservation status, the number of individuals has stabilized, ornithologists hope that it will begin to increase.