STATUS Sedentary, topped up by some wintering birds.
ABUNDANCE Scarce as a breeder; uncommon as a winter visitor.
HABITAT Ponds, reservoirs and sluggish river stretches.
SEASONAL BEHAVIOUR Year round presence with increasing numbers in autumn and winter.
DISTRIBUTION Nests in low numbers in all four provinces. Breeding birds in eastern Sierra Morena are clustered almost exclusively in the River Guadalquivir and farm pools and gravel pits of the campiña; more evenly distributed in the rest where it takes to smaller farm ponds. Seen in winter on almost any mass of standing water.