L. Forró szerk.: Miscellanea Zoologica Hungarica 12. 1998 (Budapest, 1998)

Bankovics, A.: Distribution data of wildfowl (Aves: Anatidae) in the Khangai Mountain in Mongolia

(Table 2). They had special grazing pastures: small areas with short, green grass surrounded by stony fields along that river bank. There were 5 breeding pairs together in the lake at Bajan Obo, each pair with 2 or 3 downy young on 16 June. Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna Linnaeus, 1758) A few specimen was regularly seen in the lower part of the study area at Bajan Obo, but only one record at Mandai: 1 specimen flew along the river on 9 June. Other observations: 2 specimens at Bajan Obo on 15 June, 4 at the same place 16 June. Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea Pallas, 1764) A rather common bird of the study area recorded every day at all the three localities (Tables 1 and 2). This species is well-protected by the local people due to religious tradition. It is treated as a sacred species because of its coloration in Mongolia, therefore in contrast with other waterfowl it is seldom hunted in this country. They were feeding in the rapid mountain river using two methods for searching food. Swimming or slowly walking in the shallow water they put their head under water foraging from or among the bottom stones. Other times they were often feeding upside down like a Mallard from the bottom. There were 6 pairs scattered along the river on a stretch of 6 km, but there were 2 pairs on 400 meter stretch along the river. Two specimens with laud call were chasing a Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) at Bajan Obo. This phenomenon indicates that the Black Stork must be a predator in this bird community for the Ruddy Shelduck offsprings at least in their pullus-ages. Table 2. The daily number of the two most common waterfowl species in the Khangai Mountains Localities Date Anser indicus Tadorna ferruginea Bajan Obo 5 June 6 4 Galut 5 June 2 Mandai 6 June 2 +4 pullus 2 Mandai 7 June 3 4 Mandai 8 June 8 7 Mandai 9 June 14 12 Mandai 10 June 8 4 Mandai 11 June 13 10 Mandai 12 June 3 6 Mandai 13 June 18 3 Mandai 14 June 18 4 Mandai 15 June 20 4 Galut 15 June 2 Bajan Obo 15 June 6 2 Bajan Obo 16 June 26+ 14 pullus 31