A Guide to Australian Waterfowl
 Relative sizes of Australian waterfowl. Updated and revised by the Game Management Unit, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria, March 2005. Reproduced with the permission of the Commonwealth Government and Environment Australia. Artwork provided courtesy of Frank Knight. |  |
Australian Waterfowl These pages are intended to enable you to identify some important waterfowl (ducks, geese and swans) in Australia.
This guide is intended primarily for the hunter, but those interested in identifying waterfowl should also find it useful.
For sound conservation it is essential that hunters should be able to identify game ducks before you shoot.
Most waterfowl likely to be encountered while hunting in Australia are illustrated in these pages, however, some of them are not legal game birds and are protected by law. The regulations governing hunting may vary from state to state so you should know the laws of the state or territory in which you are hunting and ensure that you take only those ducks which are legal game.
Also there are many species of waterbirds such as coots, swamphens, grebes and cormorants, not included in these pages and which you are likely to encounter. These birds are not legal game and are usually protected by law.
Duck hunting
Recreational duck hunting in Australia is managed on a sustainable basis with authorities setting bag limits and season dates to ensure that hunting does not threaten the conservation status of any game species. Recreational duck hunting is permitted in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. However, recreational duck hunting is not permitted in the Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland , although some opportunity may exist under pest management programs.
Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania require that all hunters must pass a waterfowl identification test before they are permitted to hunt ducks. This ensures that all licensed duck hunters can adequately identify game and non-game waterbirds while in the field. Hunters should contact the wildlife authority in the state or territory that they wish to hunt to find out what the legal requirements are, before entering the field.
Hunters may incur heavy penalties for shooting non-game species including: fines; seizure of firearms and/or equipment; loss of licence; and, in some instances, jail sentences. If you can’t positively identify your target, don’t shoot.
A game species or not?
States and territories that allow recreational duck hunting declare in legislation which species are considered game. To be declared game, species are generally common and occur in large numbers. However, just because a species is considered game in one state does not mean it is game in another.
The status of game species may change from time to time and hunters should check with the relevant state or territory wildlife authority as to which species are game and what the bag limits and seasons are. The status of the waterfowl included here was current at the time of writing (December 2005). Some game species may be protected from hunting at particular times, such as during drought, or bag limits may be changed in response to population numbers and/or environmental conditions.
The status of the game species included here relates only to their status for recreational duck hunting. Although some states and territories may not permit recreational duck hunting, some species may be available for hunting under pest mitigation permits, particularly Western Australia and New South Wales.
Importance of Habitat (Please click the link on the left to view video footage relevant to waterfowl habitat across eastern Australia. A transcript of the footage is also provided).
How to identify waterfowl
Prior to applying for Game Licence to hunt game ducks in Victoria hunters need to pass the Waterfowl Identitification Test.
All species of Australian waterfowl are readily identifiable, especially within shotgun range.
On the following pages, a written description of game waterfowl and other common waterbirds is accompanied by illustrations. These illustrations are intended to highlight important distinguishing features and allow for positive identification of the bird, both in flight and in the hand. Important distinctive field marks that allow you to differentiate between each of the species is shown in bold type. The distribution of light and dark plumage is particularly important when identifying waterfowl, especially the presence and position of white areas on the wings and the contrast between underwing, neck and body. Some species have distinctive shapes and voices.
Size may also be helpful in distinguishing between species. For example, the Mountain Duck is a large duck, the Black Duck is a medium-size duck and the Grey Teal is a small duck. The image on the home page shows the relative sizes of common waterbirds which are likely to be encountered while hunting.
A distribution map is also included with each description and shows the usual range of each of the species. However, most Australian waterfowl are nomadic and may be found as vagrants outside their usual range. It is important to learn how to identify those waterfowl you are most likely to encounter in the region in which you hunt.
Video footage and transcript (click the links below to view video footage and a transcript for information relevant to waterfowl identification).
Introduction and Wing pattern
Plumage contrast and Outline
Colour
Calls
Size
Behaviour
Habitat
Conclusion