Appearance:
Male - The male Australian Shelduck has a black head and upper neck with metallic green highlights, a white neck collar, black-grey beak, chestnut breast, mainly blackish body, the wings have black primaries, metallic green secondaries, and chestnut tertials.
Female - The female is similar but has white around the eye and the base of the beak. The female is also noticably smaller.
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Size: - Typical Adult is 55-73cm (22-28in).
Food: - Aquatic plants, seeds, insects, invertebrates, and grazes on short grasses.
Habitat/Range: - Wetlands, marshes, swamps, lakes, open woodlands, and grasslands of southern & western Australia and Tasmania. Winters further north in large wetlands such as Lake George and the Coorong in Australia.
Breeding Habitat/Resident, 
Migration or Winter Area.Breeding Season: - July to December.
Eggs: - 5-14 (creamy-white colour).
Notes: - The Australian shelduck is the largest duck in Australia where they are sometimes called the Mountain Duck. Like other Shelducks they nest in tree hollows and the young are taken to nursury waters where they are looked after by other Shelducks.
Conservation status (IUCN 3.1):
Least Concern.
Classification: - Family: Anatidae,
Subfamily: Tadorninae, Genus: Tadorna.
Australian Shelduck video:
