n.
or sheldrake
Any of several short-billed, somewhat gooselike, Old World ducks with long legs and an upright stance.
They are smaller members of the duck tribe Tadornini (family Anatidae). The common shelduck ( Tadorna tadorna ), of Europe and Asia, is black and white with a reddish chest band; the drake has a knob on his red bill. The ruddy shelduck ( Casarca ferruginea ), ranging from northern Africa and Spain to Mongolia, is orangish, with a pale head and white wing patches. Drakes usually have melodious whistling calls and are aggressive. In North America, mergansers are sometimes called sheldrakes.