Australian Shelduck

Scientific name: Tadorna tadornoides

Meaning of name:

Tadorna is an Italian word for duck. The Greek suffix –oides, meaning like, makes tadornoides duck-like.

Aboriginal Name:

Koorak (koo’rark).

Distribution:

Occurs in southwestern and southeastern Australia.

Description:

Up to 72 centimetres long with a wingspan of 132 centimetres.

Notes:

The furthest distance recorded by the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme for this species of bird to travel is 1,106 km. The oldest bird recorded was recovered 13 years 1.4 months after being banded (information as at 14 June 2012).

References:

Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Various contributors.

What Bird is That? Neville W Cayley. 1978

Aboriginal names of bird species in south-west Western Australia, with suggestions for their adoption into common usage. Ian Abbott. 2009. Conservation Science Western Australia Journal. Volume 7 No 2 https://library.dbca.wa.gov.au/Journals/080559/080559-07.015.pdf

Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/science/abbbs/abbbs-search.html

Atlas of Living Australia https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/046dd167-e59a-4b0f-b573-fc72de406e85