Hardhead

Aythya australis

Description

Aythya australis has a uniform brown upper body color with reddish sides. The lower body is white. The hind margins and most of the underside of the wings are white. In males the eyes are striking white, while the females are brown. Beak black and legs gray.

Population Size

Unknown

Life Span

-

WEIGHT​

Male 900 g; female 840 g

LENGTH

45-60 cm

Om

Omnivore

So

Solitary

Classification

KINGDOM

:

Animalia

PHYLUM

:

Chordata

CLASS

:

Aves

ORDER

:

Anseriformes

FAMILY

:

Anatidae

GENUS

:

Aythya

SPECIES

:

Aythya australis

Distribution

Aythya australis can be found in wetlands, meadows, lakes, swamps, rivers, and ponds.

Geography

Continent : Australia, Asia

Country : Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, New Zealand

Habits and Lifestyle

Aythya australis is good at diving, able to dive deep enough and can stay underwater for up to a minute. Generally avoids coastal waters, rarely seen on land and never seen in tree branches.

Lifestyle

Solitary

Biome

–

Climate Zone

Tropical or subtropical

Diet and Nutrition

Aythya australis feeds on a wide variety of aquatic creatures, especially aquatic invertebrates such as clams and freshwater clams. It also eats seeds and aquatic plants.

Diet : Omnivore

Mating Habits

The breeding season varies, usually from October to December and September to December. Nests are usually placed in dense low vegetation near water. The female lays 9-13 eggs with an incubation period of about one month (30 days).

Reproduction session : –

Incubation periods : about 30 days

Independent age : –

Baby name : –

Baby carrying : 9-13 eggs

Population

Population status : Least Concern (LC)

NE

DD

LC

NT

VU

EN

CR

EW

EX

Population number​

The population is stable, so it is categorized as a species of Least Concern in the IUCN Redlist.

PHOTO GALLERY

Reference

  1. Hardhead on Wikipedia Article
  2. Hardhead Aythya australis on The IUCN Redlist
  3. Hardhead Aythya australis on the Oiseaux Birds Article