Kuruwhengi (drake in breeding plumage) - Australasian shoveler - Anas rhynchotis variegata
Kuruwhengi drake with a kuaka (bar-tailed godwit) in the background.
On a very blustery day with a chill, gritty wind blowing off the sea and the dunes, the birds at Ashley Estuary were all crowding into the few spots at high tide where a few grasses or the shape of a bank gave bit of shelter. As a result quite a variety of birds were in one space. The waders (in this case kuaka/bar tailed godwit) standing in their hundreds in the shallow water themselves created a micro climate of shelter for the ducks!
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Shovelers are specialist filter-feeding waterfowl with a large spoon-shaped or shovel-shaped bill that is almost twice as broad at its tip than at its base and which is the bird’s most conspicuous feature. Fine lamellae extend along most of the edge of the upper mandible and it is by pushing water through this lamellae curtain that small plankton and fine seeds are extracted.
Kuruwhengi are sexually dimorphic. The males are highly coloured most of the year, when they have a blue-grey head and neck with a distinctive white crescentic band at the base of its large spatulate black bill. The breast is a mottled brown and white after breeding but becomes progressively pure white as the nuptial moult proceeds during May. Its chestnut flank is offset by a large white patch at the tail base. The eye is yellow and the legs bright orange. Females are uniformly mottled light brown with dull brown bill and eye, and brown-orange legs. In flight Australasian shovelers have a distinctive profile with a conspicuously large, indeed out of proportion, bill, sharp pointed wings and very rapid wingbeats. The blue, white and green patches on the upper wing contrast with the white underwing. Their flight, especially at takeoff, gives off a distinctive whirring soun. Shovelers are quiet ducks. Displaying or defensive drakes have a rapid, but low volume, train-like sound (chuff-chuff) call, and females sometimes quack. Kuruwhengi are widespread throughout the North and South Islands, rarely on Stewart Island, mainly on large freshwater wetlands (usually fairly coastal), but occasionally in sheltered estuaries. They also make seasonal use of dune lakes, temporary wetlands, drains and sewage ponds.
Shovelers perform spectacular communal courting and then pairs break off to find a secluded territory for nesting which occurs in October, which is later than for all other waterfowl. Males vigorously defend territory. Nests are usually situated in long grass near water. Clutches are of 5-13 (mean 10) white eggs and upon hatching the ducklings are raised solely by the female over about 8 weeks. Broods are rarely active or conspicuous during the day. (Source: NZ Birds Online)
Kuruwhengi (drake in breeding plumage) - Australasian shoveler - Anas rhynchotis variegata
Kuruwhengi drake with a kuaka (bar-tailed godwit) in the background.
On a very blustery day with a chill, gritty wind blowing off the sea and the dunes, the birds at Ashley Estuary were all crowding into the few spots at high tide where a few grasses or the shape of a bank gave bit of shelter. As a result quite a variety of birds were in one space. The waders (in this case kuaka/bar tailed godwit) standing in their hundreds in the shallow water themselves created a micro climate of shelter for the ducks!
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Shovelers are specialist filter-feeding waterfowl with a large spoon-shaped or shovel-shaped bill that is almost twice as broad at its tip than at its base and which is the bird’s most conspicuous feature. Fine lamellae extend along most of the edge of the upper mandible and it is by pushing water through this lamellae curtain that small plankton and fine seeds are extracted.
Kuruwhengi are sexually dimorphic. The males are highly coloured most of the year, when they have a blue-grey head and neck with a distinctive white crescentic band at the base of its large spatulate black bill. The breast is a mottled brown and white after breeding but becomes progressively pure white as the nuptial moult proceeds during May. Its chestnut flank is offset by a large white patch at the tail base. The eye is yellow and the legs bright orange. Females are uniformly mottled light brown with dull brown bill and eye, and brown-orange legs. In flight Australasian shovelers have a distinctive profile with a conspicuously large, indeed out of proportion, bill, sharp pointed wings and very rapid wingbeats. The blue, white and green patches on the upper wing contrast with the white underwing. Their flight, especially at takeoff, gives off a distinctive whirring soun. Shovelers are quiet ducks. Displaying or defensive drakes have a rapid, but low volume, train-like sound (chuff-chuff) call, and females sometimes quack. Kuruwhengi are widespread throughout the North and South Islands, rarely on Stewart Island, mainly on large freshwater wetlands (usually fairly coastal), but occasionally in sheltered estuaries. They also make seasonal use of dune lakes, temporary wetlands, drains and sewage ponds.
Shovelers perform spectacular communal courting and then pairs break off to find a secluded territory for nesting which occurs in October, which is later than for all other waterfowl. Males vigorously defend territory. Nests are usually situated in long grass near water. Clutches are of 5-13 (mean 10) white eggs and upon hatching the ducklings are raised solely by the female over about 8 weeks. Broods are rarely active or conspicuous during the day. (Source: NZ Birds Online)