Hardhead
Aythya australis· 鸭科(1 photos)
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Hardhead
45-60 cm; span to 70 cm. Compact, rich-mahogany diving duck with largish, high-crowned head. Male: eye white; bill blackish, tip crossed by blue-white band; 'stern' white. Female: paler brown; eye dark; bill blue-grey; throat whitish. Immature: like female. Singles, pairs, to rafts of thousands: feeds on surface, in shallows, and in deeper water. Dives smoothly, submerges 20-30 seconds, emerges swimming rapidly; body slopes rearwards. Flight swift, with shallow flickering of slender, rear-set wings: note flashing translucent white trailing edge to wing, white underwings and belly.
- Other name
- White-eyed Duck.
- Similar Species
- see Blue-billed Duck.
- Voice
- male: soft wheezy whistle; female: harsh rattle.
- Habitat
- deep, permanent wetlands; large open waters; brackish coastal swamps; farm dams, ornamental lakes, sewage ponds.
- Breeding
- Aug.-Dec. (se. Aust.).
- Nest
- neat, well-woven cup of stems, with canopy; in reeds, cumbungi, lignum, waterside bush, stump, bole of swamp tree.
- Eggs
- 9-12; creamy white.
- Range & Status
- Aust. and Tas. in suitable habitat. Breeds in mainland e., se. and sw. Aust., dispersing to n. Aust., Tas. and far inland, except w. deserts, after good rains. Irregular to Indonesia, PNG, Pacific Is. and NZ. Dispersive and irruptive.
