Pink-eared Duck

About the Pink-eared Duck

The pink-eared duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus) is a species of duck found in Australia. The pink-eared duck has a large spatulate bill like the Australasian shoveler, but is smaller at 38–40 cm length. Its brown back and crown, black and white barred sides and black eye patches on its otherwise white face make this bird unmistakable. Juveniles are slightly duller, but otherwise all plumages are similar. Its vernacular name refers to a pink spot in the corner formed by the black head pattern; it is only noticeable at close distance however, making the origin of the seldom-used Australian name of zebra duck more readily apparent.

The pink-eared duck was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name Anas membranacea. It is the only living member of the genus Malacorhynchus; a closely related, but slightly larger extinct form from New Zealand was described as Scarlett's duck (Malacorhynchus scarletti). This peculiar duck may be most closely related to the shelducks but its relationships are enigmatic. It may be closer to the musk duck and the stiff-tails and, formerly placed in the paraphyletic... Wikipedia →