Description:

A small teal with a prominently striped head and rather long dark bill. Male has white stripe behind eye, and brown breast contrasting with grey flanks; shows blue-grey forewing in flight. Female has patterned head with pale supercilium, whitish loral spot, pale line below dark eye-stripe, dark cheek-bar, and whiter throat.

Distribution:

Common passage migrant through major waterways and lakes all across Gilgit-Baltistan. Landing in the region during cloudy/harsh weather, at lakes, marshes, rivers and streams with fringe vegetation up to 4500m, avoiding turbulent waters.

Behavior:

Feeds by dabbling, head dipping and picking from surface; also upends in shallow waters. Mainly a nocturnal feeder, but also by day if undisturbed. Feeds mainly on aquatic invertebrates (worms, insects and their larvae, crustaceans, molluscs), amphibians, small fish, seeds, roots, tubers and green parts of sedges, grasses and aquatic plants.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Garganey in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Garganey

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.