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The Common shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) is a bird found in Netherlands, Denmark, United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Norway, and 2 more countries. Coasts and mudflats across Europe and Asia. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fish and leaves and other plant parts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Common shelduck lives

Coasts and mudflats across Europe and Asia.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs70%
• 🐟 Fish20%
• 🌿 Leaves & plants10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Common shelduck

Recorded by Jarek Matusiak (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC569333. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Common shelduck

Where does the Common shelduck live?

The Common shelduck lives in Netherlands, Denmark, United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Norway, and 2 more countries. Coasts and mudflats across Europe and Asia.

What does the Common shelduck eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 70%), fish (about 20%), leaves and other plant parts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Common shelduck endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Europe

• European golden plover
• Eurasian spoonbill
• Spotless starling
• Corn bunting
• Whinchat
• Great bustard

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.