NEW IMPORTANT STOP-OVER SITES FOR RUDDY SHELDUCK TADORNA FERRUGINEA PALLAS, 1764 (AVES, ANATIDAE) IN SICILY

The Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea PALLAS, 1764 is a species widely distributed in Southeast Europe and central Asia (MACKINNON et al., 2000). Records in N and W Europe (including Northern Italy) mainly involve escapes from captivity since this species of duck is commonly kept in wildfowl collection, private gardens and parks. Despite this, actually, in Sicily the Ruddy Shelduck is considered an irregular migratory and wintering species and the observations must be attributed to the presence of wild individuals (CORSO, 2005). From 2009 to 2017, 67 observations were collected and compared with those included in the available bibliography (CORSO, 2005). The species was observed in 7 different locations. Compared to the last 20 years, the observations of the species are increased; previously, they are located mainly in the three most important known locations: Vendicari (SR), Simeto river (CT) and Lentini lake (SR) (CORSO, 2005), but, in addition to these, three new different International stop-over sites for migratory waders and ducks are added: Salt-pits of Trapani (TP), the Plain of Gela (CL) and the Pantani of South-Eastern Sicily (RG-SR). The observation in Ganzirri Lake (ME) (2014-2015) was instead discarded because about an ind. with confidence behaviour, probably escaped from captivity. In the last 9 years the observations of the species were mainly made in these three new sites, where, moreover, there are also unconfirmed reports of possible breeding pairs (L. Barraco, A. Corso, personal communications). The Plain of Gela is the site with more observations, in which this species has been reported regularly for 8 consecutive years; in the Pantani of S-E Sicily and salt-pits of Trapani the species was observed more regularly in the last 10 years than in the '90s. Freshwater pools, flooded grasslands, marshes, brackish or saline lakes and artificial reservoirs nearby to agricultural lands (agroecosystems) result the habitats most frequented by this species. The observations are referred mainly to the migration period, with peaks in March, in November and in December/January, with established wintering cases. This pattern of observations could be related to the increase and the possible expansion of the breeding and wintering Algerian population (BOULKHSSAÏM et al, 2013).