• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Hardhead - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: (Australian) White-eyed Duck

Photo by Mat & Cathy
Sherwood Arboretum, Brisbane, Australia, June 2006
Aythya australis

Identification

42–59 cm (16½-23¼ in)

  • Chestnut-brown upperparts
  • Rufous flanks
  • Whitish belly
  • White underwing

Eyes: white in male, brown in female

Distribution

Female, as told by duller plumage and brown eye
Photo by colonelboris
Victoria Park, Sydney, Australia, November 2009

Australia (except driest areas), Tasmania and south-western Oceania.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species[1].

Habitat

Large, deep lakes and marshes.

Behaviour

Diet

They are mainly vegetarian, eating seeds, flowers grass, sedges and aquatic plants. They also eat some aquatic invertebrates.

Gallery

Click on image to see larger version

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Avibase
  3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved February 2017)

Recommended Citation

External Links

Search the Gallery using the scientific name:

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

Back
Top