Shane Allwood Photography

Despite being predominantly brown, the Pacific Black Duck has always been known as the ‘black duck’. Its only black plumage is a bold stripe that runs across the bird’s face, from its bill to behind its eye, giving it a distinctively striking pattern. It has been claimed that the duck appears as though it is black when seen at a distance. The species is known as the ‘Grey Duck’ in New Zealand, but as it has barely any grey plumage, this is hardly a more appropriate name! Description The Pacific Black Duck is mostly mid-brown in colour, with each feather edged buff. The head pattern is characteristic, with a dark brown line through the eye, bordered with cream above and below and a dark brown crown. The upper wing colour is the same as the back, with a bright glossy green patch in the secondary flight feathers. The white underwing is conspicuous in flight. Young Pacific Black Ducks are similar to the adults in plumage. Distribution The Pacific Black Duck is found in all but ...

Despite its name, the cotton pygmy goose is actually a small, surface-feeding duck. This bird has a goose-like bill and a white head, neck and underbelly. It is dark glossy green on top and has a narrow breast band. Females have a duller plumage, a dark eye-line stripe and white eyebrows. During the breeding season, males have a black band around the neck base. The cotton pygmy goose uses large hollows in trees close to the water for nesting. Nests can be lined with grass, rubbish and feathers and clutch sizes range from 6 to 12 eggs. Nesting occurs between November and April. The female incubates and rears the ducklings with some support from the male. Males stay with the female and ducklings for a fortnight, while the female will stay for six months. This species has limited territorial displays, often co-existing peacefully with other nesting pairs in the same area. Where are they found? In Australia, the cotton pygmy goose ranges along the eastern coast from NSW to QLD, wit...

The Australian Pelican is often seen around the coasts, where it can be seen roosting on sandbanks, rock platforms and reefs, or swimming in lagoons, bays and estuarine waters, dipping their over-sized bills into the water to catch fish. However, on the rare occasions that monsoonal rains flood the salt lakes in the arid inland of Australia, many pelicans take advantage of the conditions and flock there in their thousands to breed. When it dries out, they leave and head for other less-ephemeral terrestrial wetlands or the coast.

(prev known as the Black-winged Stilt) The White-headed Stilt is a large black and white wader with long orange-red legs and a straight black bill. It has black on the back of the neck, a white collar and a red iris. Both sexes are similar, and the plumage does not change during the year. White-headed Stilts give a repeated high-pitched barking call. Young White-headed Stilts lack black on the back of the neck and have grey-brown wings and back, speckled with white. They have a smudged grey crown, which extends down the back of the neck as the birds get older.