Wild Bird Wednesday 40 - Pink-eared Duck.

My recent trip to Perth gave me a chance (after work, just in case the boss is reading!) to get some images of Pink-eared Duck.  This small duck - about 40 cm long - is a delight to watch, but I had never managed to get any decent images before.

There were a number of these ducks loafing about on the shore and sitting on half submerged logs.  They were not so used to people that they would stay put, but they were not so nervous as to swim off. A cautious approach allowed me to get close enough to get plenty of shots.   As my colleagues were sitting on the grass, I had to cut the trip short.

Later on when they saw the pictures, one of them said "It looks like it as a pink highlighter pen mark on its head" - which is the kind of thing that they should put in guide books!

This duck goes by the scientific name of Malacorhynchus membranaceus - which "soft beak, membrane" - which is a decent description of the beak - large and broader at the tip, which is soft.  See, there is meaning in all this latin and greek sounding stuff!

The females are a little smaller than the males - but the difference is not great enough for you to tell the difference in the field - I assume you need a duck in the hand to do that!

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Now a plea - PLEASE link to your actual post, not just your general blog address - it does save me a bit of time and PLEASE consider getting rid of word verification if you have it turned on, seeing half blurred images and microscopic numbers drains me of the will to live!