Marmelente Thurgau

The marbled duck (Marmaronetta angustirostris) measures around 39 to 42 centimetres in length and is recognised by its grey-brown, finely spotted plumage and the long, narrow dark bill. Males and females look very similar, with no pronounced seasonal dimorphism. The species favours shallow, densely vegetated freshwater, brackish or alkaline wetlands with extensive reed cover, almost exclusively in warm Mediterranean and arid climates.

Its natural range is now restricted to fragmented populations in southern Spain, southern Italy, north-west Africa, the broader Levant and parts of western and central Asia. Once widespread around the Mediterranean basin, the species has lost a large share of its breeding habitat over the past century. The remaining European breeding population is estimated at only a few hundred to about a thousand pairs, with the Iraqi marshes and the Iranian Shadegan Marshes still holding internationally important concentrations.

In German-speaking Europe the marbled duck is classed as a very rare vagrant. Historical records from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century are isolated, and most modern sightings are attributed to escapees from waterfowl collections. The species is listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List and is covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA). It is fully protected year-round and holds no role as a quarry species in the DACH hunting context.