[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":165},["ShallowReactive",2],{"species_en:\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvodoplavayushchie-ptitsy":3,"alt-locale:species_en:\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvodoplavayushchie-ptitsy":134,"section-listing:species_en:\u002Fvidy-ptic":135,"related-covers:en:\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy|\u002Fopredelitel|\u002Fsemeystva":158,"section-listing:disabled":164},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"conservationStatus":94,"coverImage":95,"description":96,"diet":94,"extension":97,"family":94,"familySlug":94,"faq":98,"imagePrompt":108,"latinName":94,"meta":109,"navigation":110,"order":94,"pageType":111,"path":112,"publishedAt":113,"readingMinutes":114,"relatedLinks":115,"relatedSpecies":94,"season":94,"seo":128,"sitemap":131,"stem":132,"tags":94,"updatedAt":94,"wingspanCm":94,"__hash__":133},"species_en\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvodoplavayushchie-ptitsy.md","Waterfowl and Wetland Birds",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":87},"minimark",[9,14,26,33,37,59,76,80],[10,11,13],"h2",{"id":12},"what-unites-waterfowl-and-wetland-birds","What unites waterfowl and wetland birds",[15,16,17,21,22,25],"p",{},[18,19,20],"strong",{},"Waterfowl"," — ducks, geese, and swans — form the family ",[18,23,24],{},"Anatidae",", united by webbed feet, a broad, flattened bill, and dense waterproof plumage adapted to life on and around open water. Within this one family, feeding strategy varies enormously: dabbling ducks like the mallard tip forward to reach submerged plants without diving, geese graze on land like small livestock, and swans use their long necks to reach vegetation well beyond the depth available to ducks.",[15,27,28,29,32],{},"Alongside true waterfowl, this overview also features the ",[18,30,31],{},"grey heron",", a member of the unrelated family Ardeidae that shares the same wetland habitats but hunts fish and amphibians using patience and a lightning-fast strike rather than swimming, dabbling, or grazing — a useful contrast in how different bird lineages have adapted to the same watery environment in very different ways.",[10,34,36],{"id":35},"featured-waterfowl-and-wetland-birds-in-this-atlas","Featured waterfowl and wetland birds in this atlas",[15,38,39,40,45,46,50,51,45,55,58],{},"The ",[41,42,44],"a",{"href":43},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Fkryakva","mallard"," (",[47,48,49],"em",{},"Anas platyrhynchos",") is the most familiar dabbling duck across the Northern Hemisphere, found on almost any body of water year-round and instantly recognized by the drake's glossy bottle-green head. The ",[41,52,54],{"href":53},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Fsery-gus","greylag goose",[47,56,57],{},"Anser anser",") is a large grazing bird and the wild ancestor of most domestic geese, typically seen in flocks on farmland close to open water.",[15,60,39,61,45,65,68,69,45,72,75],{},[41,62,64],{"href":63},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Flebed-shipun","mute swan",[47,66,67],{},"Cygnus olor",") is one of the largest flying birds in the world, unmistakable for its pure white plumage, curved neck, and orange bill with a black basal knob. The ",[41,70,31],{"href":71},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Fseraya-tsaplya",[47,73,74],{},"Ardea cinerea",") represents a very different hunting strategy, standing motionless in shallow water for long stretches before striking suddenly at passing fish.",[10,77,79],{"id":78},"where-and-when-to-watch-waterfowl-and-wetland-birds","Where and when to watch waterfowl and wetland birds",[15,81,82,83,86],{},"Lakes, slow rivers, marshes, reservoirs, and sheltered coastal shallows offer the best opportunities to see this group, with resident mallards and mute swans visible on the same waters throughout the year, including in city parks and canals. Migratory populations of greylag geese and grey herons from colder, more continental parts of the range are best looked for from ",[18,84,85],{},"March to October",", with numbers swelling further at favored sites during spring and autumn passage as birds pause to feed on the way to and from breeding grounds.",{"title":88,"searchDepth":89,"depth":89,"links":90},"",2,[91,92,93],{"id":12,"depth":89,"text":13},{"id":35,"depth":89,"text":36},{"id":78,"depth":89,"text":79},null,"\u002Fimages\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvodoplavayushchie-ptitsy.png","Waterfowl and other wetland birds span dabbling ducks, grazing geese, elegant swans, and patient wading hunters — from the everyday mallard to the towering mute swan and the motionless grey heron.","md",[99,102,105],{"q":100,"a":101},"Are ducks, geese, swans, and herons all the same kind of bird?","No — ducks, geese, and swans belong to one family, Anatidae, united by webbed feet and a flattened bill adapted for dabbling, grazing, or filtering food, while herons belong to an entirely separate family, Ardeidae, built for a completely different hunting strategy based on stillness and a rapid strike rather than swimming or grazing; both groups are simply grouped here under the broader umbrella of wetland-dependent birds.",{"q":103,"a":104},"Why do some waterfowl migrate while others stay all year?","Migration in this group tracks the availability of open, unfrozen water rather than temperature alone: species and populations breeding in the coldest, most continental parts of the range, such as many greylag geese and grey herons further east, must move south once their home waters freeze solid, while resident mallards and mute swans in milder areas can stay put year-round wherever ice-free water and food persist through winter.",{"q":106,"a":107},"Why is the grey heron included with ducks, geese, and swans here?","The grey heron is grouped with waterfowl in this overview because it depends on the same wetland habitats — rivers, lakes, marshes, and reservoirs — even though it belongs to a different family and hunts fish and amphibians by patient stillness rather than dabbling or grazing like the true Anatidae species featured alongside it.","Photorealistic wildlife photography, a mallard drake dabbling beside a grazing greylag goose and a mute swan gliding past with wings raised in a busking display on a calm reed-fringed lake, a grey heron standing motionless at the water's edge in the background, soft-focus reflections of overhanging willows on still water, sharp focus on the mallard's eye in the foreground, warm early morning light from camera-left, shallow depth of field, telephoto lens compression, 16:9",{},true,"species","\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvodoplavayushchie-ptitsy","14.07.2026",1,[116,120,124],{"label":117,"path":118,"description":119},"Species catalogue","\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy","Browse all bird species covered in the atlas",{"label":121,"path":122,"description":123},"Bird identifier","\u002Fopredelitel","Identify a bird you've seen by color, size, beak shape, habitat, and season",{"label":125,"path":126,"description":127},"Bird families","\u002Fsemeystva","Species grouped by taxonomic family",{"title":129,"description":130},"Waterfowl and Wetland Birds — identification guide","An introduction to waterfowl and wetland birds: ducks, geese, swans, and herons, how they differ, and featured species from the mallard to the grey heron.",{"loc":112},"vidy-ptic\u002Fvodoplavayushchie-ptitsy","D3nx6qvKKIbpnUQuqMG8Lnh4WsBMl7kMYO1xm2Mno20",{"ru":110,"es":110},[136,142,147,152,157],{"title":137,"description":138,"path":139,"coverImage":140,"publishedAt":141,"order":94},"Birds of Prey","Birds of prey hunt live vertebrate prey with keen eyesight, sharp talons, and a hooked bill — from the hovering common kestrel to the massive, fish-hunting white-tailed eagle.","\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fkhishchnye-ptitsy","\u002Fimages\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fkhishchnye-ptitsy.png","13.07.2026",{"title":143,"description":144,"path":145,"coverImage":146,"publishedAt":113,"order":94},"How to Identify a Bird Species","Most bird identification starts with an observation, not a name — plumage color, size, beak shape, habitat, and season narrow the field faster than flipping through a list of species.","\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fkak-opredelit-vid-ptitsy","\u002Fimages\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fkak-opredelit-vid-ptitsy.png",{"title":148,"description":149,"path":150,"coverImage":151,"publishedAt":113,"order":94},"Rare and Threatened Birds","Some birds in this atlas carry a conservation status above Least Concern — from the northern lapwing (NT) to the European turtle dove (VU). This is a reminder that even familiar species can face serious pressure.","\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fredkie-ptitsy","\u002Fimages\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fredkie-ptitsy.png",{"title":153,"description":154,"path":155,"coverImage":156,"publishedAt":141,"order":94},"Songbirds","Songbirds are the largest and most vocally elaborate group of birds in the atlas — from the chaffinch's cascading spring song to the nightingale's celebrated night-time performance.","\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fpevchie-ptitsy","\u002Fimages\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fpevchie-ptitsy.png",{"title":5,"description":96,"path":112,"coverImage":95,"publishedAt":113,"order":94},[159,160,162],{"label":117,"path":118,"description":119,"coverImage":94},{"label":121,"path":122,"description":123,"coverImage":161},"\u002Fimages\u002Fopredelitel\u002Findex.png",{"label":125,"path":126,"description":127,"coverImage":163},"\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Findex.png",[],1787114553679]