Appearance: - The Pink-eared Duck has a grey-brown crown and rear neck, a whitish face with large dark-brown eye patches, brown eyes with white eye ring, a large spatulate light-grey beak, a brown back, the breast, underparts, and flanks are whitish with dark-brown barring, a white rump and brownish-black tail with white tip, brown wings with whitish tips on secondaries, and legs and feet are light-grey. This duck gets its name from a small pink patch behing the eye. Both sexes are alike.
Notes: - The Pink-eared Duck is the only living member of the genus Malacorhynchus. It was formerly thought to be a Perching Duck but may be related to the Shelducks or Stiff-tailed Ducks. It has a large spatula shaped beak but is not related to the Shoveler. In Australia it is sometimes called the Zebra Duck because of the striping on the underparts.
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Pink-eared Duck - September 2012
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