A pair of Australian wood ducks (Chenonetta jubata) forage on the recently cleared embankment in the Dawn Road Reserve, near the end of McConachie Court. The male is at the front, the female behind.

Australian Wood Ducks (Chenonetta jubata)– medium-sized ‘goose-like’ ducks with a dark brown head and a paler grey or brownish body, with two black stripes along the back – are frequent visitors to the Dawn Road Reserve.

This pair (female at the rear, male in foreground) are scavenging along the recently cleared embankment just before revegetation began. Interestingly, the male has a small, black mane-like crest on the back of his head and neck. That crest can be erected in display, much like a cockatoo.

According to arkive.org: “While the female Australian wood duck is generally rather noisy, producing a distinctive, drawn-out and mournful mewing sound, the male is only known to make weak sounds, including a soft, wheezy and somewhat nasal call. The male is also capable of producing a deep rumbling noise during its breeding display, as well as a soft call to maintain contact with its brood. The female maintains contact with the ducklings with a conversational cluck.”

A black and white magpie lark (Grallina cyanoleuca or peewee) sits watching two Australian wood ducks in the riparian zone around a stream in the Dawn Road Reserve.

Sources: Birds in Backyards, Arkive

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Images: Trina McLellan