Pink-eared Duck

Description:

The Pink-eared Duck is a small duck with a huge square-tipped grey bill and strongly barred brown flanks. It has a large brown eye patch on a white finely barred face. There is a small pink patch behind the eye. Upper parts are brown, underparts white barred dark brown. The upperwing is brown with a white trailing edge and the underwing linings are white, finely barred brown. In flight, there is a bold white crescent on the rump.

Habitat:

Swan River

Notes:

The Pink-eared Duck is named after an insignificant spot of pink feathers on the side of the drake’s head; the female lacks this spot. More striking are the bold black-and-white stripes which dominate the ducks’ neck, breast and underparts, giving rise to its vernacular name of Zebra Duck or Zebra Teal. Pink-eared Ducks have odd-shaped bills, evolved to feed in a specialised manner: water is sucked through the bill-tip, then expelled through grooves along the side of the bill, filtering out tiny invertebrates in the process.