Blue-billed Duck (Oxyura australis)

Other Names (World)
Blue-billed Duck, Australian Blue-billed Duck, Diving-duck, Little Musk Duck, Spinetail, Spiny-tailed Duck, Stiff-tail, Australian Stiff-tail, Stiff-tailed Duck, Blue-bill, Australian Blue-bill, Diver

Family
Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, Swans)

Size
37 - 44 cm

First Described (Guide)
Gould, 1836

Derivation
Ox-y-ür'-a - Gk, oxys, sharp; Gk, oura, tail: australis - L., southern (Australia)

Abundance (Guide)
LA - MC

Uncommon but locally abundant. Sedentary.

Habitat
Deep freshwater marshes with dense vegetation, lakes and dams. More open waters in the non-breeding season.

Range (Guide)

Australia (B) (NB).

South-western Australia and south-eastern Australia to southern Queensland. Also Tasmania.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 12,000 (2010) and stable.

Status NT
A moderately small population and declining.

Vulnerable.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Aquatic animals and plants.

Voice
Usually silent. Displaying males make a soft, throbbing, increasingly rapid, 'dunk-dunk-dunk-dunk-...' sound and a shrill, soft, 'chi-chi-chi-...'. Famale rebuffs with a soft, 'tet-tet-tet-...'.

(14Kb) © ? (2)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (1)...)

Blue-billed Duck (Oxyura) [XC616991]
by Ramit Singal from Oatlands, Southern Midlands Council, Tasmania, Australia (call)

Blue-billed Duck (Oxyura australis) [XC616992]
by Ramit Singal from Oatlands, Southern Midlands Council, Tasmania, Australia (call, display splashing)

Breeding Season (Guide)
September - March.

Nest
Bulky, composed of bent down flags or reeds, lined with down.

Eggs (Guide)
5 - 12, usually 5 - 6; large, coarse grained, light green; oval; about 68 x 49 mm. Incubation: 26 - 28 days; by female.

Young
Precocial, nidifugous.

Subspecies
Considered by some to form superspecies with Lake Duck (Oxyura vittata).

No subspecies.

Similar Species
Females and immatures with female and immature Musk Duck (Biziura lobata) which floats lower and females and immatures with female and immature Freckled Duck (Stictonetta naevosa) which lack the stiff tail.

References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

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