Water Birds in Roquetas de Mar
Families
Platalea leucorodia
It is an unmistakable bird because of its large size, white colour, and its characteristic spatula-shaped bill, from which it gets its name. In the summer season adults have an ochre spot at the base of the neck and the front end of the bill also has a yellowish spot. It usually flies in groups […]
Burhinus oedicnemus
It has an ungainly appearance, and its rounded head stands out when standing still, scanning the horizon with its striking yellow eyes. Its legs and beak are the same colour. Its back is mottled in earthy colours with dark spots and a white bar on its covert feathers. It often runs along the ground in […]
Anas crecca
It is the smallest duck to be seen in Roquetas de Mar, in the distance it looks like a small grey duck, but if we look more closely, we can observe its brown head with a bottle green mask. The female follows the brownish pattern of the other ducks and is distinguished by its small […]
Mareca penelope
It is a medium-sized swimming duck, with a short neck and a large, rounded head. In flight they have a white spot on the belly. Marked difference between sexes. The male has a rusty-reddish head, pinkish breast and a striking yellow spot on the forehead and grey body. The female is more brownish without the […]
Aythya nyroca
It is a diving duck and both the male and the female have brown colourations, with a darker brown back, in honour of its name. Its white rump is characteristic and identifiable, as are the belly and the underside of the wings, which are easily visible in flight, and are also white.
Mareca strepera
It is a medium- to large-sized swimming duck. the male has a greyish hue, which is brownish in the female. It has a white speculum, and the rear (“rump”) is black.
Spatula querquedula
A small swimming duck, the male is identifiable by the white stripe that goes from above its eye to its nape, the long specular feathers are equally striking, and visible, with a whitish pattern, the flank is grey, and its breast is dark brown. The female can be identified by the striped pattern on its […]
Plegadis falcinellus
This bird, related to the one that gave its shape to Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom and with authority over the rest of the gods, is a great ally in the fight against insects since it feeds on larvae. From a distance it seems to have black plumage, but up close you can see […]
Phalacrocorax carbo
The great cormorant is a large and dark-coloured bird, the adult’s body is practically covered with black feathers with metallic green flashes, only interrupted in the mating season by white feathers on the thighs and in the subspecies common to this coast (sienensis) on the back of the head that have a greyish appearance in […]
Podiceps cristatus
This elegant and stylized bird is unmistakable during the summer, with striking brown, black-tipped tassels. These feathers emerge from its cheeks. Also, during mating time, it grows two groups of feathers on its head in the form of plumes. Extraordinarily striking for their jealousy, the nuptial dances they perform make them distinguishable among the flocks […]
Ardea alba
It is much larger than the Great Egret, to which it is remarkably similar, but slightly slenderer. The neck is long and angular, it does not have the characteristic occipital feathers of the former, but the bill turns yellow during the non-nuptial season. During the mating season the tibiae acquire a reddish colouration.
Phoenicopterus roseus
Unmistakable for its size, its long neck and legs and its characteristic bulging bill, in addition to the pinkish hue which becomes more intense on the wings, neck and legs with age.