A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Aythya australis
Rich reddish brown duck with head slightly darker than body. White breast not visible in normal swimming posture. Male pictured here has white eye. The female has brown eyes. Bill tip is pale blue.
Deep ponds, lakes, rivers, sometimes rafts of thousands. Found throughout Australia except for the dry central deserts, this one was seen in the ponds at Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW, feeding with hundreds of other ducks.
"A shooters name. While there is no evidence that its skull is particularly solid, Frith(1967) commented that 'owing to a very dense plumage and apparently great stamina, it is hard to kill'.....by 1898 Morris was using Hard-head as an alternative to White-eyed Duck." Australian Bird Names, A Complete Guide - by Ian Fraser and Jeannie Gray, CSIRO PUBLISHER. White-eyed Duck seems like a better name. Should we go back to that?!
Spotted on Jan 9, 2014
Submitted on Mar 4, 2014
2 Comments
Thanks, Hema, for asking that question. It was hard to find an answer but I found a book that has it. I was afraid it was a hunting name and it is. See my addition to the notes for this answer.
nice portrait! Any reason ,known as hard head?