Ruddy Shelduck

Varthur lake, Bangalore, Karnataka

In November 2024, a pair of Ruddy Shelducks visited Varthur. There isn’t much to add about this beautiful species because we all know its elegance and grace. It’s also well-known that this is one of the bird species that always stays in pairs, and this instance was no exception. However, the challenge was the distance and their shyness. They stayed almost in the middle of the large lake and remained quite shy. I’ve seen this bird in many places across India and noticed that wherever they migrate in adequate numbers, they are not as shy because they feel less isolated. But here, they didn’t let us approach much; instead, they flew away together, even when other ducks were present in the same area. It was a delightful sight to watch them in flight because that’s when we can see the colors of the Indian flag displayed in their feathers.