Australian Wood Duck

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Australian Wood Duck

Australian Wood Duck

Chenonetta jubata


Forms monogamous breeding pairs that stay together all year round. Nests in tree hollows above or near water. Breeding season is from September through to November. Between 8 and 10 eggs are laid and incubation time is 28 days. Both parents feed the young. The young leave the nest after 57 days.


Details Description
Type
Bird
Group
Duck
Other Common Names
Maned Duck, Maned Goose
Identifying Characteristics

Grows to between 45 and 60 cm. Dark brown head and a pale grey body with two black stripes running along the back. The female has a paler brown head with two pale stripes, one above and one below the eye.

Distinctive Markings

Speckled breast.

Diet

Omnivore. Grasses, clover and other herbs. Occasionally insects.

Habitat

Grasslands, open woodlands, wetlands, flooded pastures and along coasts in inlets and bays. Common in dams on farmland. Also frequent rice paddies, sewage ponds and urban parks.

Native Status
Native to Australia
Sounds
Females make a nasal "grouwwk", beginning low and rising. Males produce a higher, abrupt "now".
Taxonomy
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Anseriformes
Family
Anatidae
Genus
Chenonetta
Species
jubata
Australian Wood Duck
Widespread in Australia, including Tasmania.

Distribution maps indicate current and historic locations where species have been sighted.

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

Conservation Status
DEPI Advisory List
Not listed
FFG Act
Not listed
EPBC Act
Not listed

The conservation status of species is listed within Victoria and Australia.

The Department of Environment and Primary Industry (DEPI) Advisory List consists of non-statutory advisory lists of rare or threatened flora and fauna within Victoria.

The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG Act) lists threatened species in Victoria. Under the Act, an Action Statement is produced for each listed species.

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is the Australian Government’s key piece of environmental legislation, listing nationally threatened native species and ecological communities.

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