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Hardhead
Aythya australis
-25.2986, 152.854
Field Notes
Description:
The Hardhead is a medium-sized duck which appears mainly chocolate brown when swimming, with a white undertail. In flight, the underwings are white, edged with brown. A white breast patch is obvious in flight and when standing in the shallows. The bill is pale blue on the tip. Males have a distinct white eye, while the eye is brown in females. When flying, the wings make a distinctive whirring sound. Hardheads sit low on the water and are diving ducks. This species is also known as the White-eyed Duck, Barwing or Brownhead
Habitat:
Hardheads are found in freshwater swamps and wetlands and occasionally in sheltered estuaries. They are rarely seen on land and tend to roost on low branches and stumps near the water. They prefer deep, fresh open water and densely vegetated wetlands for breeding.
Notes:
Spotted in a pond in Hervey Bay botanical gardens. The duck in the 3rd photo is a female, hence the brown eye, the rest are of a male.
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