Specie's Page                                               Asia - Baer's Pochard

Baer's Pochard:  

UK Status: Non resident, it is a bird of Northern, and Central China, which migrates to overwinter in Southern China, India and Japan. This bird can be found in the UK in conservation breeding programs of rare endangered birds.

Habitat: This bird eats aquatic plants, grass seed and molluscs, and is found in large wetland areas with lots of vegetation.

Breeding: Nests are built in reed beds, and are made from sedges, rushes and other aquatic plants. Nest are circular and cylindrical in shape, and are placed in reed beds, small islands and sand bars. The single clutch of eggs varies in number, from as little as five, to as many as fourteen, the average is nine to ten. Eggs are pale buff in colour, and when the female leaves the nest to feed, she covers the eggs with vegetation to keep them warm. Eggs take three, to four weeks to incubate.

Comment: These birds are thought to be extremely rare these days. However number counts in their breeding grounds are much lower than the numbers of migratory birds. This may suggest that they have an unknown breeding ground/s not as yet discovered.