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Blue-billed Duck (Oxyura australis) Alternate name(s): "Spiny-tailed Duck", "Diving Duck*", "Stiff-tailed Duck", "Little Musk Duck" Aboriginal name(s): "boodo" (SW WA) Size: 36-44 cm Weight: 0.6-1.2 kg

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Blue-billed Ducks are medium-sized ducks with dimorphic plumage, i.e. males and females are different. In breeding plumage, male Blue-billed Ducks have a chestnut body, a black head and neck, and the name-giving blue bill. Female Blue-billed Ducks are all mottled dark-grey/brown, with a dark-grey bill. Males in eclipse resemble females, with only a remnant of chestnut remaining on the mantle. The stiff, stringy feathers of the wedge-shaped tail of both sexes can be erected. The irises are dark, the bill dark-grey, legs and feet are also dark-grey. Juvenile/immature Blue-billed Ducks tend to be paler than adults, with more buff-brown hues, rather than dark-grey. Twitcher's tip The females of Blue-billed Duck and Musk Duck can be hard to distinguish. The most prominent difference is the shape of the bill. The female Blue-billed Duck has a typical "duck-like" bill, while that of the female Musk Duck is much more triangular and more reminiscent of a goose's bill.

Taxonomy, classification See Blue-billed Duck at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Blue-billed Duck is available HERE . Blue-billed Ducks are endemic to Australia. Similar to Musk Ducks, Blue-billed Ducks are found only in the south-eastern and south-western parts of the Australian continent. Their range comprises basically all of Tasmania, VIC, NSW and the southernmost part of QLD, as well as the easternmost part of SA (including Innamincka), plus the south-west corner of WA. During the breeding season they are mostly found in freshwater marshes with dense vegetation; during the rest of the year they also go into the more open waters of freshwater lakes.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Blue-billed Ducks were first seen by us on Narrabri Lake in the 2010/11 breeding season. Two pairs of Blue-billed Ducks were spotted by us at Dangar's Lagoon, Uralla, NSW, in March 2012. In April 2012 also found at Old Quipolly Dam, Quirindi, NSW. Since then, they have always been found by us at that location when there was water in the dam. They are also regulars at the New Quipolly Dam. Blue-billed Ducks are also spotted infrequently by C. Hayne and A. Lines in various wetlands around Moree, NSW. J. Greaves reports spotting a Blue-billed Duck at Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, in January 2015. M. Eaton reports finding Blue-billed Ducks at Amiens Road dam, near Applethorpe, QLD, in July 2019. Another pair was spotted at Lake Galletly, Gatton, QLD, in August 2022. C. Pears found a significant number of Blue-billed Ducks at Lake Monger, Perth, WA, in April 2021. In October 2022 they were also found at Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, where they were breeding at the time.

Photos

ADULT

MALE

BREEDING

Close-up frontal view of a male Blue-billed Duck in breeding plumage; note the characteristic blue bill
(photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Monger, Perth, WA, October 2022]

Frontal view of a male Blue-billed Duck in breeding plumage
[Old Quipolly Dam, near Quirindi, NSW, December 2016]

Near-frontal view of a male Blue-billed Duck in breeding plumage
[Old Quipolly Dam, near Quirindi, NSW, December 2016]

Close-up lateral view of a male Blue-billed Duck in breeding plumage
[Old Quipolly Dam, near Quirindi, NSW, December 2016]

Close-up lateral view of a resting male Blue-billed Duck in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Monger, Perth, WA, October 2022]

Lateral view of a male Blue-billed Duck in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Galletly, Gatton, QLD, August 2022]

Lateral view of a male Blue-billed Duck
[Old Quipolly Dam, Quirindi, NSW, April 2012]

Lateral view of a preening male Blue-billed Duck in breeding plumage

Close-up near-dorsal view of a male Blue-billed Duck in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Monger, Perth, WA, October 2022]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a resting male Blue-billed Duck in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Monger, Perth, WA, October 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a male Blue-billed Duck in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, January 2015]

Dorsal view of a male Blue-billed Duck in breeding plumage resting on a pond

FEMALE

Near-frontal view of a female Blue-billed Duck
[Old Quipolly Dam, near Quirindi, NSW, December 2016]

Near-frontal view of a female Blue-billed Duck looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Galletly, Gatton, QLD, August 2022]

Near-lateral view of a female Blue-billed Duck (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, November 2022]

Near-lateral view of a female Blue-billed Duck
[Old Quipolly Dam, near Quirindi, NSW, December 2016]

Close-up lateral view of a female Blue-billed Duck (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, November 2022]

Lateral view of a female Blue-billed Duck
[Old Quipolly Dam, near Quirindi, NSW, December 2016]

Lateral view of a female Blue-billed Duck
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, December 2010]

Lateral view of a preening female Blue-billed Duck
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, December 2010]

Lateral view of a female Blue-billed Duck resting on a pond

PAIR

Lateral view of a pair of Blue-billed Ducks
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, November 2010]

Lateral view of a pair of Blue-billed Ducks
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, November 2010]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a moulting male Blue-billed Duck; the rather short bill suggests that this may be an immature bird, rather than an adult male moulting from eclipse into breeding plumage
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, November 2010]

Near-lateral view of a Blue-billed Duck; the prominent barring and pinkish gape suggest that this may be an immature bird
[Old Quipolly Dam, near Quirindi, NSW, December 2016]

Lateral view of an immature(?) Blue-billed Duck flapping its wings
[Old Quipolly Dam, near Quirindi, NSW, December 2016]

Lateral view of a female Blue-billed Duck with 5 ducklings (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, October 2022]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Dispersive/sedentary

Elementary unit: Pair

A male was observed by us "patrolling" a stretch of reeds, paddling both ways, either on open water or in or behind the reeds, as if to protect its territory. The male also repeatedly bobbed its head and tried to impress a female seen by us. If indeed territorial behaviour, Blue-billed Ducks may have been breeding at Narrabri Lake in the breeding season of 2010/11.

Male Blue-billed Duck displaying its tail for a female
[Old Quipolly Dam, near Quirindi, NSW, July 2016]

Male Blue-billed Duck, right, trying to impress a female, left - first he made a big splash and then dashed across the lake, to the left, at top speed - here he is seen "revving up"
[Old Quipolly Dam, near Quirindi, NSW, July 2016]

Blue-billed Ducks resting on open water (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Monger, Perth, WA, April 2021]

Blue-billed Ducks resting on open water (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Monger, Perth, WA, April 2021]

Food, Diet

Unlike other geese, ducks and swans, Blue-billed Ducks are not vegetarian. Apart from underwater plants, they also feed on aquatic invertebrates.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

blubill_20161208_2.mp3

(NW NSW)

Squabbling (with wing beats)

© MD

We have also recorded the wing beats of a Blue-billed Duck.

blubill_20161208.mp3

(NW NSW)

Male display

© MD

More Blue-billed Duck sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Wed, 9 November 2022, 0:19 +00:00