The Grey-headed shelduck is a large duck family bird living in South Africa. Males have a grey head, while the body of birds of both sexes is covered with reddish-brown plumage with white wings.
The grey-headed shelduck differs from related species by the head coloration of the male and female. It is important for nature because it helps control the population of aquatic invertebrates and serves as food for predators.
pecking
Worker
birth time
Hot and almost no precipitation
Picking small food items from foliage, ground, or other surfaces.
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
shallow coastal zones of rivers and lakes
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
crustaceans
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
mollusks
small planktonic crustaceans — copepods, krill
beak
adult
Maturity
plant
Melon
plants
invertebrates
insects
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
filtering water with beak and foraging on land
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
rains are very rare, almost a desert
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
all seas and oceans
Trophic type
all living animals without backbone
Filters
summer very hot, dry, lots of grass
Warm winter with almost no precipitation
Upcoming birthdays
standing fresh waters — lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
Height
Desert and dry shrubs
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
algae
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
dry, cold winter, lots of grass, few trees
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
Regeneration
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
live snails, mussels, oysters
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
gleaning
Pets
Repeatedly strikes or probes substrate with beak to obtain food.
Hot steppe
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
Wingspan
turns
Rascals
Flooded grasslands
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
grazing
Body plumage color
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
from 0.8 to 1.2 kilograms, 0.6 – 1.2 meters
all rivers and lakes
Feeds by cropping or nibbling low-growing vegetation or algae.
Low precipitation in winter
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
winter dry and warm
lakes and ponds
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
rivers and streams
if born as {name}
omnivore
age
birth date
swimming
freshwater coastal and creek
Close
Egg shell color
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
herbivory, feed only on plant food
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
burrow
after transformation until death
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Gestation
aquatic
{name} birthday
No results found
On the map
Pleasant summer
Female ♀
all life stages
Cold and almost dry
Down feathers color
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
Beak color
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
Legs color
What if eaten?
Very dry
Neither
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
What do they eat?
dry and cold almost all year round
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Marine world
from birth to death
water often floods the land, lots of grass
world of Afrotropics
Freshwater
Temperate mixed forest
Very hot and dry
Duration
live insects
This is me
Steppe
freshwater
Gamers
aquatic plants and algae
How are they built?
shallow near the shore, water rises and falls, crabs live here
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
very hot during the day, cold at night, almost no rain
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Head color
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Littoral Zone
Cold steppe
flowing fresh waters — rivers, streams, mountain torrents
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
very hot and almost no precipitation
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Hard, projecting mouthpart used to probe, pluck, or crack food.
summer warm, many oaks, birches, maples
Length
kg
very hot and dry, rare rains, cacti live
Observations
◉{N} more on tap