Blue-billed Duck - BirdForum Opus

Male
Photo © by Lindsay Cooke
Lake Wendouree, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, November 2004

Oxyura australis

Identification

40cm
Non breeding Male

• Slate-blue bill
• Glossy black head and neck
• Chestnut back and wings
• Grey feet
• Brown iris
  

Female
Photo © by julien
Lake Wendouree, Victoria, Australia, October 2004

Non-breeding Male
Photo © by Ken Doy
Tasmania, Australia

Breeding Male

• Bright blue bill
• Black head with white specks
• Chestnut back and wings
  

Female

• Dark brown head
• Mottled back and wings
• Dark grey brown bill and feet
• Brown iris
  

Immature :similar to adult female, paler and grey-green bill.

Distribution

Patchily distributed in south-western and south-eastern Australia and Tasmania.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Breeds beside deep, heavily vegetated fresh water; in winter on fresh water of any kind.

Behaviour

Breeding

The female builds the nest. The clutch consists of 3-12 eggs (usually 5-6) which are incubated for 26-28 days.

Diet

The diet includes molluscs, caddis flies, dragonflies, water beetle larvae as well as seeds, buds, and fruit of emergent and submerged plants.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Blue-billed Duck. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue-billed_Duck

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