Hardhead (White-eyed Duck), Sydney, Australia
By Charlie • January 16, 2009 • 7 commentsThe rather lovely Hardhead Aythya australis is the only true diving duck found in Australia, and will be immediately recognisable to birders familiar with eg the Ferruginous Duck as an aythya pochard. Common in the south-east of Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin, they are moderately nomadic in normal years, but disperse widely in times of drought. Significant numbers reach as far afield as New Guinea, New Zealand, and the islands of the Pacific, where they can remain for some time, even breeding for a season or two.
Hardheads (I’ve no idea where the name came from - one that’s totally useless in terms of helping identify the species - but maybe a typical 19th century Aussie night out used to involve getting drunk and head-butting ducks, and word soon spread that this was one mean aythya to avoid?) are also known as White-eyed Ducks for obvious reasons, and are found in freshwater swamps and wetlands and occasionally in sheltered estuaries. These ones were part of a loose flock of about twenty I saw on the main lake in Centennial Park in January 2009 (thinking about it they were not mingling with the very common Pacific Black Ducks - maybe they know as well what it’s like to get ‘nutted’ by a Hardhead).
(Range map copyright Birds Australia) According to BirdLife International this species has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 100,000-1,000,000 km². It has a large global population estimated to be 100,000-1,000,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2002). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
However a cautionary note comes from http://wiserivers.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au, which says that “The regulation of water, altering flood patterns, is believed to have contributed to the decline of this duck, which is now rare along the southeast coast.”
| Male Hardheads. Only males have the gleaming white eye that gives the species its alternative name of White-eyed Duck. Both sexes though have chestnut upperparts, white bellies, white undertail coverts, and (in flight) white trailing wing edges and white underwings. |
| Female Hardhead. Note brown eyes and less rich plumage. Note also on the standing bird the typical leg and foot structure of a diving duck: the feet are large and powerful and the legs are set relatively far back, both adaptations which aid in diving and swimming underwater. |
Other references: http://bird.net.au.
All photos copyright Charlie Moores 2009
This is a beautiful duck. To me, it looks quite a bit like the scaups locally known as “bluebills.” The color tones are different and the markings are also slightly different, but the posture and basics are very similar. I wonder if anyone has DNA’d these two species and found if they are closely related–or if they simply evolved similarily to fill a similar niche in two far-flung areas of the globe.
Carolyn H.
Carolyn - the two North American scaup species (plus Ring-necked Duck, Canvasback, and Redhead) are also in the genus Aythya and are thus closely related to the Hardhead. Species in this genus are also found in Eurasia and Africa.
Charlie - awesome photos. I love these ducks.
Maybe you can’t explain Hardhead… can you explain Morepork? That’s an Aussie name that’s always left me confused.
Hi Nick,
The Southern Boobook Owl here in Aus, has a call that sounds a bit like someone saying “More Pork”. In the early days of European settlement, people mistakenly thought the Tawny Frogmouth made the “Morepork” call, and so Frogmouths became known as ‘Moreporks’. In other situations, where people rightly attributed the call to the Boobook, IT became known as “morepork”.
Cheers,
John Tongue,
Tasmania, Australia
Thanks, John! That makes sense. I’m sure names like Chuck-will’s-widow and Whip-poor-will must be equally confusing to non-North-American birders
Yes, it could be - though there are lots of birds named after their call - or for stranger reasons! We have one species here, ‘officially’ called Apostlebirds, for their habit of going round in groups….of approximately 12. Another name, though, is “Lousy Jack”, on the basis of their constntly scruffy looking plumage and their tendency to take frequent dust baths. I’m not sure beyond that whether they really are any more ‘lousy’than any other species.
Cheers,
John Tongue
Hahaha, I’ve heard of Apostlebirds but not their name origin. I’ve never heard of Lousy Jack, what family/genus is that?
The name “Lousy Jack” is an alternate name for the Apostlebird. Another is “CWA bird”. CWA, in Australia, stands for the Country Women’s Association - a group sometimes seen as loud and querulous. I would not like to say whether I endorse this name or not!!!