Thread: Duck Identification

How on earth do I identify a duck?

The duck in question showed up at our local pond this week. It is bigger than the standard ducks, it has a wattle (flappy bit under its bill - yes I had to look that word up), it dives under the water and has a wide flat bill.

The most unusual aspect, and hence the interest from a non twitcher, was that this duck was wet. It had a large fan of a tail that was permanently just under the surface of the water and its feathers were wet - unlike all the other ducks that had dry feathers (e.g. 'like water off a ducks back' - did not apply to this duck).

I'm guessing that it is a migrator bird that has popped over for winter as it is not in our Australian bird book. There was only one and I've not seen one during previous winters.

did it look like this? A male Musk duck. Only the male has the 'wattle' under the beak/bill. They put on a breeding display by 'rooster tailing' water behind them as they paddle along. They float low in the water (no oil on feathers) and dive to the bottom to feed - also why they dont have much oil on the feathers to reduce bouancy (makes them look wet too). Oz native most common in the Murray Darling Basin and Cooper Creek