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  Profile

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  In flight

Waterfowl

Freckled Duck

Stictonetta naevosa

• rare
• 65 km/h
• Least Concern

One of Australia's rarest ducks. Looks plain until the light hits, revealing a galaxy of pale freckles on dark plumage.

Population

7,300–17,000 mature individuals (~11,000–26,000 total; BirdLife International/IUCN assessment)

Habitat

Freshwater inland wetlands with dense fringing vegetation for breeding (flooded swamps, lignum and canegrass shrublands, bogs, marshes); disperses to open lakes, reservoirs, sewage ponds, and coastal brackish/saline lagoons in dry periods and outside breeding season

Fun fact

The Freckled Duck is Australia's most ancient and distinctive waterfowl species, an evolutionary relict with no close living relatives, sometimes nicknamed the "monkey duck" for its odd, peak-crowned profile and grunting calls.

Range

Endemic to Australia; a nomadic species concentrated in inland eastern and southern Australia (Murray-Darling Basin, Paroo-Warrego/Cooper Creek catchments, Currawinya Lakes, Lake Torquinie) across NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, with smaller populations reaching southwest Western Australia

Diet

Specialist filter-feeder taking algae, aquatic plant seeds and vegetation, plus small invertebrates such as insect larvae and crustaceans, strained from shallow water and mud

Size

0.55 m

Wingspan

0.85 m

Lifespan

10 years