Australian Shelduck

(Tadorna tadornoides)
Also known as: Chestnut-breasted shelduck, mountain duck.

Live: Southeastern and western Australia. Appear to be self-introduced to scattered sites around New Zealand.

Habitat: Inhabiting brackish to freshwater lakes, ponds etc. Needs freshwater regularly.

Diet and care: Young grasses and shoots, algae and aquatic grasses. Molluscs.
Zoo diet: duck pellet mix, daily.
Feed stations and surrounds are cleaned weekly.

Breeding: July- December.
Nest: In a large tree hollow, lined with down. Sometimes rabbit burrows.
Eggs: 10 - 14 white. Female incubates them for 33 days, The male guards the nest area

General: Size ~ 65cm. Both sexes a similar size, but different in colouring.
Male mostly black, with white neck-ring and light chestnut chest. Chestnut flight feathers obvious. Green speculum. Large white patch of wing feathers visible in flight.
Female has a darker chestnut chest and a white ring around the eye and base of bill.
Dark brown iris, black beak and grey legs.

Call: A range of calls including honks.

Habits:During dry times they migrate to water.
Form enormous flocks outside the breeding season.
Feed noisily late afternoon but spend much of the day resting beside water.
Believed to pair for life and return to the same nest each year.

Duckling: white with brown from head to back