42-50 cm, the male with a characteristic white spot on the wing coverts. A very numerous wintering species from September to March, some individuals pass the summer here without reproducing in the restored areas of the Isola della Cona. It frequents tidal flats where it feeds on formations of Zostera noltii. In some valli, it takes advantage of the artificial feeding provided for hunting purposes. In the past, large flocks would spend the day at sea, probably as a response to the high anthropogenic disturbance caused by hunting.