The Australian representative of the group, common but only
found in the south on open-country lakes and other bodies of water. Like most shelducks it forms long-term
pair bonds and disperses to form large moult flocks. Unlike many Australian birds it has a fixed breeding
season which is not tied to rainfall, thus it is not found in arid areas and two discreet populations occur
in Western Australia and Victoria/New South Wales. It also occurs on Tasmania. Although sexually dimorphic,
the only major and consistent difference is white around the eye of the female, as shown in the first two
shots taken in Western Australia. The male on the right is captive.
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