Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides)

Other Names (World)
Australian Shelduck, Mountain Duck, Chestnust-breasted Shelduck, Chestnut-colored Shelduck, Chestnut-coloured Shelduck, Chestnut Shelduck, Sheldrake, Grunter

Family
Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, Swans)

Size
55 - 74 cm

First Described (Guide)
Jardine & Selby, 1828

Derivation
Tad-orn'-a - N.L., tadorna, from an Italian word for duck: tad-orn-oid-ës - N.L., tadorna, from an Italian word for duck; -oides, Gk, eidos, form = like

Abundance (Guide)
LA

Locally common in south-eastern and south-western Australia. Uncommon elsewhere.

Habitat
Large shallow, fresh, brackish, saline and tidal waters, farmlands, pastures, stubble fields, irrigation areas, open woodlands, occasionally at sea.

Range (Guide)

Australia (B), New Zealand (B).

Eastern Australia, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia to as far north as the Tropic of Capricorn and 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 340,000 - 1,200,000 (2010).

Status LC
Secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
In pairs or flocks.

Food
Chiefly grass and other herbage.

Voice
Male: deep zizzing grunts. Female: higher pitched 'ong gank, ong gank', or strident 'ow ow ow ow'. When disturbed it rises quickly uttering a hrash 'chank, chank'.

(6Kb) © ? (2)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (15)...)

Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides) [XC382773]
by Marc Anderson from Congelin Dam, Dryandra Woodland, Western Australia, Australia (call)

Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides) [XC614170]
by nick talbot from Lake Monger, Town of Cambridge, Western Australia, Australia (call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
June - December, mainly July - October.

Nest
On the ground, in a rabbit-burrow or in a hole of a tree, composed of dried grasses and lined with down, sometimes in or near water.

Eggs (Guide)
5 - 15; close-grained, lustrous cream; oval; 62 - 74 x 45 - 51 mm. Incubation: 30 - 35 days; by female.

Young
Precocial, nidifugous.

Subspecies
Considered by some to form superspecies with Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea), South African Shelduck (Tadorna cana) and Paradise Shelduck (Tadorna variegata).

No subspecies.

Similar Species
None in Australia but with Paradise Shelduck (Tadorna variegata) in New Zealand which lacks the white collar and chestnut band across the breast and mantle.

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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