Garganey
Photo: YedidyaPopper · CC BY 4.0

Ducks, Swans, and Geese

Garganey

Spatula querquedula

LCLeast Concern
Family
Ducks, Swans, and Geese (Anatidae)
Order
Anseriformes

Overview

The garganey (Spatula querquedula) is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and across the Palearctic, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Bangladesh (in the natural reservoirs of Sylhet district) and Australasia during the winter of the Northern hemisphere, where large flocks can occur. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Like other small ducks such as the Eurasian teal, this species rises easily from the water with a fast twisting wader-like flight.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Breeds Palearctic (except north); winters to central Africa through Indonesia.

Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.