As the holidays approach, we want to introduce with “Kākaulis” Clangula hyemalis. In spring, it is often possible to hear the voice of Clangula hyemalis, which gives a special atmosphere to a quiet evening by the sea. When they get together, the whole sea seems to be singing. The Latvian name of Clangula hyemalis is derived from its song in "kā-kau-lit".
Clangula hyemalis is a duck, it can dive up to a depth of 60 m. This duck is a great diver - during the day it spends more time under water than above it, but prefers to feed in 3 - 10 m deep waters, looking for molluscs and crustaceans. Clangula hyemalis feed mainly on aquatic animals, but also on plants and algae. In Latvia, Clangula hyemalis can be found both on the coast and in the open sea.
Clangula hyemalis individuals are characterized by different feather colour depending not only on gender, but also on age and season. In winter, feather colour is mainly white, especially for males, which are also characterized by expressively long tail feathers. Among all the ducks that overwinter in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea, Clangula hyemalis has one of the most impressive tails with very long and expressed medium feathers. For some parts of the corpus, feather colour may change up to three times a year, while most ducks change their feathers only twice. Feather colour of this duck depends on its gender, age and season.
The Baltic Sea is an important wintering place for Clangula hyemalis, thousands of these birds also winter in waters under Latvian jurisdiction, but according to wintering bird records, the number of Clangula hyemalis in the Baltic Sea from 1991 to 2008 has decreased by 65% - from 4.3 to 1.5 million. In wintering places, Clangula hyemalis form large flocks of a few hundred or even thousands of birds. Clangula hyemalis is characterized by synchronous diving, the view is especially impressive when a large flock disappears underwater at the same time.
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