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Australian Wildlife

  Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides)





Australian Shelduck | Tadorna tadornoides photo
Australian Shelduck

Image by Martin Pot - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Australian Shelduck | Tadorna tadornoides photo
Australian Shelduck female

Image by Adrian Pingstone - License: Public Domain.    (view image details)

Australian Shelduck | Tadorna tadornoides photo
Australian Shelduck

Image by Andrzej Barabasz (Chepry) - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Australian Shelduck | Tadorna tadornoides photo
Australian Shelduck Tadorna tadornoides. Australia.

Image by Ben Eenhoorn from Perth, Australia - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







AUSTRALIAN SHELDUCK FACTS

Description
Boldly-coloured large-bodied shelduck. Black body and head; conspicuous chestnut breast; white ring around neck and white fore wing. Females have a white ring around eye. Up to 72 cm long and male wingspan up to 132 cm.

These shelducks graze on aquatic and terrestrial plants at the edges of water or in shallow water. Outside the breeding season they can occur in very large flocks. In flight they are very noisy and form long 'V's , unlike other Australian waterfowl.

Author credit: Alexis Tindall / South Australian Museum

Habitat
Grasslands and croplands, large shallow waters, seeks open flat or undulating areas, including wetlands, mudflats or wide beaches.

Food
Herbivore, Invertebrates

Range
South-eastern and south-western Australia

distribution map showing range of Tadorna tadornoides in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.


Species Description is from Museums Field Guide, Atlas of Living Australia at website at https://lists.ala.org.au Licensed under Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.




Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Anatidae
Genus:Tadorna
Species:tadornoides
Common Name:Australian Shelduck

Relatives in same Genus
  Radjah Shelduck (T. radjah)