Pink-eared Duck

Scientific name: Malacorhynchus membranaceus

Meaning of name:

Malacorhynchus is from the Greek words malacos, meaning soft, and rhynchos, meaning beak. Membranaceus is from the Latin word membrana, meaning membrane.

Aboriginal Name:

Wimbin (wim’bin).

Distribution:

Widespread but absent from the arid areas of Australia.

Description:

Up to 45 centimetres long with a 71 centimetre wingspan.

Notes:

The furthest distance recorded by the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme for this species of bird to travel is 489 km. The oldest bird recorded was recovered 1 year 3.9 months after being banded (information as at 14 June 2012).

The photographs for this species were not taken in the reserves of interest to the FQPB.

References:

What Bird is That? Neville W Cayley. 1978

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

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/ed591036-06d9-46a3-840f-414b993a4a04