Radjah Shelduck
Radjah radjah
Large black and white duck with obvious pale eye, pale bill, and chunky pale-colored legs. Note narrow dark breast-band. Typically found on and around wetlands, rivers and sewage ponds, including mangroves.
Identification
Both the male and female of the species are mostly white, with dark wing-tips and a distinctive "collar" of dark feathers. When viewed from above, during flight or with wings outstretched, green bands are visible on the tops of their wings. To communicate, the female utters a harsh rattle while the male emits a breathy, "sore-throat" whistle.
Taxonomy
The specific name radjah is from the Moluccan name Radja for the radjahshelduck on the island of Buru in Indonesia.<p>Formerly placed in the genus Tadorna, it differs markedly from other members in external morphology and mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data, suggesting its status should be reinvestigated. Current classification places it in its own monotypic genus Radjah.
- Scientific name
- Radjah radjah
- Authority
- (Garnot & Lesson, RP, 1828)
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Radjah
Range and habitat
The radjah shelduck inhabits the mangrove forests and coastline of New Guinea (West Papua and Papua New Guinea) and Australia, and some of the Moluccas in eastern Indonesia. In Australia, its primary range is coastal, tropical northern Australia, extending as far south as central Queensland, west through the upper regions of the Northern Territory (including Kakadu National Park) to the Kimberley in Western Australia. The radjah shelduck is listed as a protected bird in all the states of Australia, and penalties are enforced for harming or disturbing them.<p>The species prefers the salty waters of mangrove flats and paperbark tree swamps, but will visit all manner of brackish and freshwater swamps, lagoons, lakes, estuaries, river deltas, and billabongs further inland during the wet season.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Forest Elaenia
Myiopagis gaimardii
This nondescript flycatcher is most often detected by its call, a piercing two-parted “pee-sweet!” Visually it’s not overwhelming: yellowish underparts, olive upperparts, pale yellowish wingbars, and a gray head with a vague white eyebrow and black eyeline. Fairly small and similar to other species of elaenia and flycatchers; voice is most useful feature for identification. Usually seen singly in the canopy of lowland forest, often following mixed-species flocks. Widespread from Panama to Brazil.
Straight-billed Hermit
Phaethornis bourcieri
Large, drab grayish hermit with a long straight bill. Lacks a strong face pattern. Also note elongated white central tail feathers. Occurs in lowlands across much of northern South America, typically below 700 m. Found within terra firme forest, staying low and quickly zipping around flower patches in the understory.
Manchurian Reed Warbler
Acrocephalus tangorum
Small, shy, and poorly understood, this reed warbler breeds in the remote marshlands of northeastern China and Russia and winters in drier, grassier habitats in Southeast Asia. Warm brown overall with a clean-cut whitish brow and throat; brow extends well behind the eye, unlike in Blunt-winged Warbler. Very similar to extralimital Paddyfield Warbler, but Paddyfield shows dark-tipped lower mandible, duller brown tones overall, and a dirtier brow stripe with a distinctive pinch just before the eye, after which it fades out; Manchurian’s brow broadens behind the eye instead. Oriental Reed Warbler much larger, with a weaker head pattern. Rambling jumbled song consists of high-pitched warbling notes and sharp clicks and rattles; more pleasant-sounding than that of Oriental Reed Warbler.
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