Australian Shelduck
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The Australian Shelduck, Tadorna tadornoides is a shelduck, a group of large goose-like birds which are part of the bird family Anatidae, which also includes the swans, geese and ducks.
These ducks are protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974.
Range / Distribution:
This is a bird which breeds in southern Australia and Tasmania. In the southern winter, many birds move further north than the breeding range. As with other shelducks, this species has favoured moulting grounds, such as Lake George, NSW, where sizable concentrations occur.
This species is mainly associated with lakes in fairly open country, breeding in tree holes, holes in banks or similar.
Description:
The male (depicted) is largely blackish, with a chestnut breast, white neck collar and dark green head. The female is similar, but has white around the eye. Both sexes, like most shelducks, show large white wing patches in flight.
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
Diet / Feeding:
This duck feeds off of larvae and pupae usually found under rocks, aquatic animals, plant material, seeds, small fish, snails, and crabs.
Feeding Ducks ...
We all enjoy these beautiful birds and many of us offer them food to encourage them to come over and stay around - and it works! Who doesn't like an easy meal!
However, the foods that we traditionally feed them at local ponds are utterly unsuitable for them and are likely to cause health problems down the road. Also, there may be local laws against feeding this species of bird - so it's best to check on that rather than facing consequences at a later stage.
- Click here to find out which foods to feed them that will offer the nutrition they need to survive a cold winter and remain healthy
Photo, Video and/or Article contributions are welcome! Please click here for info
The Avianweb strives to maintain accurate and up-to-date information; however, mistakes do happen. If you would like to correct or update any of the information, please send us an e-mail. THANK YOU!
