Bird Guide

Australian Shelduck vs Spur-winged Goose

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
Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis)

Spur-winged Goose

Plectropterus gambensis

Huge3.9 kgWetland

Adults are 75–115 cm (30–45 in) long, and weigh an average of 4–6.8 kg (8.8–15.0 lb) (rarely up to 10 kg (22 lb)), with ganders (males) being noticeably larger than the geese. The wingspan can range from 150 to 200 cm (59 to 79 in). One source claims the average weight of males is around 6 kg (13 lb) and the weight of females is around 4.7 kg (10 lb). However, 11 individuals that were banded in South Africa, were found to average only 3.87 kg (8.5 lb), with a range of 2.4 to 5.4 kg (5.3 to 11.9 lb). Another South African-based study found 58 males weighing an average of 5.52 kg (12.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Henggang Cui · CC0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Australian Shelduck and Spur-winged Goose.