Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa)

Other Names (World)
Pacific Black Duck, Black Duck, Australian Black Duck, Wild Duck, Australian Wild Duck, Australasian Wild Duck, Grey Duck, Gray Duck, Australian Gray Duck, Blackie

Family
Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, Swans)

Size
47 - 60 cm

First Described (Guide)
Gmelin, 1789

Derivation
Anas - L., duck: su-per-cil-i-ös'-a, - L., superciliosus, browed

Information
Freely hybidizes with Northern Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).

Abundance (Guide)
A

Probably the most common of all Australian ducks.

Habitat
Water, including roadside and backyard ponds, swimming pools, farm dams, tidal mudflats, and sewerage ponds, usually with abundant vegetation.

Range (Guide)

American Samoa (B), Australia (B), Cook Islands (B), Fiji (B), French Polynesia (B), Indonesia (B), Micronesia [Federated States of] (B), New Caledonia (B), New Zealand (B), Palau (B), Papua New Guinea (B), Samoa (B), Solomon Islands (B), Timor-Leste (B) (NB), Tonga (B), Vanuatu (B).

Continental Australia generally 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 180,000 - 1,200,000 (2010).

Status LC
Loss of habitat and hybridization with Northern Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) are the main threats.

Secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
In pairs or flocks.

Food
Grass, herbage and aquatic animals and plants.

Voice
Male: a quick 'raab raabraab' when flushed. A hoarse, whispered 'fraank fraank'. A loud 'peep' when courting. Female: a hearty, descending 'quark quark quark' or quick persistent quacks.

(13Kb) © ? (2)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (26)...)

Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa) [XC439626]
by Ramit Singal from Twelve Mile Lagoon, Lakefield National Park, Queensland, Australia (flight call)

Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa) [XC434082]
by Marc Anderson from Bowra Station, near Cunnamulla, Queensland, Australia (call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
Mainly June - January in the soth and January - February in the north, but also throughout the year.

Nest
Open but sometimes party domed, of dead grass, lined with feathers, on the ground among rushes or grass growing near water, or in a hollow in the trunk of a dead tree, in or near water, usually high. Will often use an old nest of a corvid or of other waterbirds.

Eggs (Guide)
7 - 13, usually 8 - 10; smooth and glossy, white; sometimes with cream or green tinge; oval; 51 - 63 x 37 - 45 mm. Incubation: 26 - 30 days; by female.

Young
Precocial, nidifugous.

Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Indian Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha) and Philippine Duck (Anas luzonica). Hybridizes with Northern Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).

The following 3 subspecies are recognised:

superciliosa Gmelin, 1789 - New Zealand and larger offshore islands.
pelewensis Hartlaub & Finsch, 1872 - South-western Pacific Is, northern New Guinea.
rogersi Mathews, 1912 - Indonesian region, southern New Guinea, Australia.

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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