Paradise Shelduck

Overview

The paradise shelduck (Tadorna variegata), also known as the pūtangitangi, is a large, goose-like waterfowl endemic to New Zealand. It is the largest species within the genus Tadorna and is currently classified as a species of least concern by the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Males possess a blue-black head and neck with a black rump, while females have an entirely white head and neck with a chestnut body.
• Both sexes feature chestnut undertails, black legs and feet, and wings with white upper coverts and metallic green speculum feathers.
• Males produce a deep 'zonk-zonk' honk, whereas females emit a penetrating 'zeek-zeek' call.
• Distinguishable from the vagrant Australian shelduck by the lack of a white collar, white eye markings, or chestnut breast band.

Habitat

Paradise shelducks are the most widely distributed waterfowl in New Zealand, inhabiting the North Island, South Island, and various offshore islands. They prefer pasture, tussock grassland, and wetlands, favouring hilly farmland with fertile riversides, farm dams, and natural pools on the North Island, and tussock river valleys and high-country lakes on the South Island. They generally avoid high mountainous regions and are uncommon on the Canterbury Plains.

Diet

Primarily herbivorous, adults mainly graze on pasture grasses and clover but also consume seed heads, earthworms, insects, and crustaceans. Young shelducks feed on aquatic insects for their first five weeks of life before transitioning to grazing on land.

Did you know?

The earliest known image of the species is a water-colour drawing of a female bird created in 1773 at Dusky Sound during James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific Ocean, which now serves as the holotype for the species.