White-eyed Duck

Like the other members of the pochard group, Hardheads feed by diving deeply, often staying submerged for as long as a minute at a time. They slip under the water with barely a ripple, simply lowering their heads and thrusting with their powerful webbed feet. They eat a broad range of small aquatic creatures, and supplement this with water weeds.

The White-eyed Duck is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

to be known as White-eyed Ducks), in the female, brown. Widespread throughout its large range, the Hardhead is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. References - * BirdLife International (2004). Aythya australis. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. More

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). More

White-eyed Duck ( Aythya australis ) = White-eyed Duck | Aythya australis photo the females White-eyed Duck has a dark eye Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved. White-eyed Duck | Aythya australis photo male has white eye Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved. More

White-eyed Duck Aythya australis = Described by: Eyton (1838) Alternate common name(s): Hardhead, Australian White-eyed Duck, Australian White-eyed Pochard, Australian Pochard, Australian White-eye Old scientific name(s): None known by website authors Photographs Dayboro, Queensland, Australia - Sep, 2002 More

White-eyed Duck, is the only true diving duck found in Australia. Hardheads are common in the south-east of Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin, but also in the wetter country near the coasts. 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. More

White-eyed Duck (Nyroca ferruginea) #438 from the "A HISTORY OF THE BIRDS OF EUROPE, INCLUDING ALL THE SPECIES INHABITING THE WESTERN PAL More

A Hardhead (Aythya australis), also known as a White-eyed Duck, on a pond on Sydney's Centennial Park. More

White-eyed Duck Aythya australis = Dayboro, Queensland, Australia - Sep, 2002 More

White-eyed Duck, Aythya australis Anatidae (DUCKS, GEESE & SWANS) White-eyed Duck, Aythya australis This photo was taken in: Australia This photo was taken with: Canon EOS 10D Notes on this photo: Also known as Hardhead, Lake Barrine, Queenland, Australia The photo was taken by: Bob Hawkins , Australia reports Birdwatching trip reports from Australia Birdwatching More