Philippine post issued wild ducks stamp series in one souvenir sheet. The stamps depicted wild ducks, Northern Pintail, Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Greater Scaup.
The Northern Pintail or Anas acuta is a migratory fairly large duck, with the male's two long black tail feathers, which in flight look like a single pin or twig .These feathers are very distinctive, accounting for a quarter of the total length of the drake when in full plumage.Fast and graceful fliers, pintails are equipped with long wings, small heads, and long necks that seem built for streamlined aerodynamics. Both sexes have blue grey bills and grey legs and feet.The Northern Pintail is a bird of open wetlands which nests on the ground, often some distance from water. It feeds by dabbling for plant food and adds small invertebrates to its diet during the nesting season.The Northern Pintail is a fairly large duck with a wingspan of 23.6–28.2 centimetres.The adult female is mainly scalloped and mottled in light brown with a more uniformly grey-brown head, and its pointed tail is shorter than the male’s; it is still easily identified by its shape, long neck, and long grey bill.The Northern Pintail has a large range, estimated at 10 million square kilometres and a population estimated at 6.1–7.7 million individuals. The population declined in more than 30% for ten years or three generations, and is evaluated as Least Concern.
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) is a waterfowl species shelduck genus Tadorna.The Common Shelduck resembles a small short-necked goose in size and shape. Common Shelduck is a striking bird, with a reddish-pink bill, pink feet, a white body with chestnut patches and a black belly, and a dark green head and neck. The wing coverts are white, some part in black and green (only showing in flight) . The underwings are almost entirely white. Sexes are similar, but the female is smaller, with some white facial markings,Common Shelduck is mainly associated with lakes and rivers in open country, breeding in rabbit burrows, tree holes, haystacks or similar.Common Shelduck is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and Asia and across most of North America.This species is unmistakable in the northern hemisphere due to its large spatulate bill. The breeding male has a green head, white breast and chestnut belly and flanks. In flight, pale blue forewing feathers are revealed, separated from the green speculum by a white border.Northern Shoveler feed by dabbling for plant food, often by swinging its bill from side to side and using the bill to strain food from the water. Northern Shoveler also eats mollusks and insects in the nesting season.Northern Shoveler is a bird of open wetlands, such as wet grassland or marshes with some emergent vegetation.The Northern Shoveler is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.The conservation status of this bird is Least Concern.
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), is a small diving duck.Greater Scaup breeds on the ground by lakes and bogs on the tundra and at the northern limits of the boreal forest across Arctic and subarctic regions of northern North America, Europe and Asia.The adult Greater Scaup is 42–51 cm long with a 71–80 cm wingspan. Greater Scaup has a blue bill and yellow eyes. The male has a dark head with a green sheen, a black breast, a light back, a black tail and a white bottom. The adult female has a white band at the base of the bill and a brown head and body.The Greater Scaup mainly eats mollusks and aquatic plants, obtained by diving and swimming underwater.The Greater Scaup is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
