Bird Guide

Australian Shelduck vs Paradise Shelduck

Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides)

Australian Shelduck

Tadorna tadornoides

Large1.4 kgWetland

The males are mostly dark, with a chestnut breast. They have white neck collars and dark green heads. The females are similar, but they have white around the eyes and are smaller. Both males and females have chestnut and black wings with a green speculum, and show some white on their wings during flight. The downy young are white with a brown crown and brown stripes from crown to tail. Juvenile males are duller than the adults and also lack a white collar, while juvenile females have a lot more white on their excluding their crown.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Maria Duynisveld · CC BY 4.0
Paradise Shelduck (Tadorna variegata)

Paradise Shelduck

Tadorna variegata

Huge1.5 kgGrassland

The paradise shelduck is a colourful, large-bodied species of duck that differs in features depending on the sex. Both females and males have chestnut-colour undertails, primarily black wing feathers with green secondary wing feathers, and upper wing surface feathers that are white. They have black legs and webbed feet for swimming. Paradise shelducks are the largest of the Tadorna species, measuring 63 to 71 cm (25 to 28 in) in length and between 1.09 and 2 kg (2.4 and 4.4 lb) in weight, averaging 1.72 kg (3.8 lb) in males and 1.29 kg (2. Voice: The vocal calls differ from male to female. The male belts a di-syllabic honk like a goose when in flight or when alarmed. The male gives off a deep zonk-zonk honk, while the female is characterised by a penetrating zeek-zeek.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: craig wilson · CC BY 4.0
Photo: naturewatchwidow · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

Learn this pair in BeakBrain

Photo and call practice, free in any browser.

Play BeakBrain

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Australian Shelduck and Paradise Shelduck.