Malacorhynchus membranaceus

HABITAT:
Highly mobile, these ducks can appear anywhere there is productive water, especially in dry inland regions, where annual rainfall rarely exceeds 15 inches.

DISTRIBUTION:
Widely distributed throughout Australia

SIZE AND APPEARANCE:                                          
These little ducks are unmistakable, with an enormous square-tipped bill and a bold black and  white stripe pattern on their lower parts, making the seldom-used Australian name of Zebra Duck more appropriate. Their tiny, bright rose-colored ear-patches (slightly above and behind the eye) are scarcely visible except at close range.

DIET:
Dependent on plankton, as well as crustaceans,

mollusks and insects. Their bill is well designed for straining minute organisms, with pliable mandibular flaps that channels water in a manner that allow the ducks to filter algae and plankton efficiently. They also feed by vortexing, in which two ducks spin about a central point with the head of one opposite the tail of the other, concentrating food in a gyrating water column.

MISC:
Nesting is stimulated by the drying and filling of pools that promote increased levels of organic material. In good years, large numbers of Pink-eared ducks concentrate in shallow flood plains. However, when conditions do not meet specifications, reproduction may be completely curtailed.

PROJECT NOTES:
Pink-eared ducks may be more numerous than commonly believed, perhaps numbering several hundred thousand, but their numbers fluctuate erratically.  In drought years, large numbers shift to more coastal habitat where they are exposed to hunters.  They appear reluctant to depart favored waters, thus exposing themselves to shooting.

Because of habitat loss, narrow environmental limits to breeding and the fact that they had never been bred in captivity the Pink-eared duck became a breeding challenge for Mike Lubbock.  In 1976, Mike organized an egg collecting expedition to Australia, which led to the world’s first breeding of the Pink-eared duck in captivity.

Today, very few aviculturalists breed these delightful birds.  For those who do, it can be difficult to raise ducklings due to a susceptibility to food impaction.  However, a small flock is maintained at the Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Center so that diverse genetic stock is on hand in case reintroduction to the wild is ever needed.

MIKE’S COMMENTS:
The Pink-eared duck from Australia is one of the most unique ducks.   It has a very striking streaked pattern with a very small amount of pink behind the eye, hence the name. The shoveler-like bill and head seem to be out of proportion to the body.  It is still unclear where the Pink-eared duck fits in the waterfowl family tree.

“Very little was known about this duck until 1976, when I was given permission by the Australian government to collect Pink-eared duck eggs.  Before this, only a few adult specimens had been in captivity, and none had ever been bred.” The expedition was very successful and a number of young were hatched and reared. In time, these birds were breeding in captivity. All of the Pink-eared Ducks found outside of Australia have derived from this trip. “There are very few of these birds in the United States, those being found at the Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Center and the San Diego Zoo.  There is a need for funding in hopes of bringing more specimens to the Center.”

                          Photo: Chris Aydlett

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