The Ruddy Shelduck is an Asian species that summers in Central Asia and winters from North Africa to Southeast Asia. There is a non-migratory population in Northeast Africa. I photographed this adult female on 10/21/95.

Males of the species have a dark ring midway on the neck and lack the white facial patch.

There are six species of shelduck in the world, all in the genus Tadorna, none occur naturally in the New World. Their ranges extend from England to North and South Africa, through Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. One other species, the Crested Shelduck, was last seen in Northeast Asia in 1971 and is now thought to be extinct.

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