# Hardhead

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Species of duck

For other uses, see [Hardhead (disambiguation)](/source/Hardhead_(disambiguation)).

Hardhead Female Male Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Genus: Aythya Species: A. australis Binomial name Aythya australis (Eyton, 1838) Subspecies A. a. extima (Mayr, 1940) (disputed) A. a. australis (Eyton, 1838) Synonyms Nyroca australis Eyton, 1838

The **hardhead** (***Aythya australis***), also known as the **white-eyed duck**, is the only true [diving duck](/source/Diving_duck) found in Australia. The common name "hardhead" has nothing to do with the density of the bird's skull, instead referring to the difficulty encountered by early [taxidermists](/source/Taxidermy) in processing the head.[2] Hardheads are found in wetter, coastal regions of Australia, particularly in the south-east, but are known to disperse as far afield as [New Guinea](/source/New_Guinea), [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand), and the [Pacific Islands](/source/Pacific_Islands).[3]

## Description

Hardheads are smaller than most [ducks](/source/Duck), with body length typically between 42–59 cm (17–23 in). Both sexes are similar in size, ranging 525–1,100 g (18.5–38.8 oz) with wingspans of 65–70 cm (26–28 in).[4] Both male and female are a fairly uniform chocolate-brown above, with rufous flanks and white undersides (which are often not visible if the duck is in the water). The trailing edges and almost the entire underside of the wings are white. In the male, the eyes are a striking white, in the female, brown.[2][5]

## Distribution and habitat

Hardheads are common in the south-east of Australia, particularly in the [Murray-Darling Basin](/source/Murray-Darling_Basin), but also in the wetter country near the coasts.[5] They are moderately nomadic in normal years, but disperse widely in times of [drought](/source/Drought). Significant numbers reach as far afield as New Guinea, New Zealand, and the islands of the Pacific, where they can remain for some time, even breeding for a season or two.[3]

Hardheads prefer larger lakes, swamps and rivers with deep, still water, but are often seen in smaller streams, flooded grasslands, and shallow pools. As a general rule, they avoid coastal waters.[5] They rarely come to land and never perch in trees.

Widespread throughout its large range, the hardhead is evaluated as [Least Concern](/source/Least_Concern) on the [IUCN Red List of Threatened Species](/source/IUCN_Red_List_of_Threatened_Species).[1]

## Behaviour

Like the other members of the [pochard](/source/Pochard) group, hardheads feed by diving deeply, often staying submerged for as long as a minute at a time. They slip under the water with barely a ripple, simply lowering their heads and thrusting with their powerful webbed feet. They eat a broad range of small aquatic creatures, and supplement this with water weeds.[5]

Hardheads are usually silent, but males have a soft, wheezy whistle and 'whirr'. Females have a loud rattling 'gaark' call.[5]

## Gallery

		- Standing male

		- Male in flight

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-iucn_status_12_November_2021_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-iucn_status_12_November_2021_1-1) BirdLife International (2017). ["*Aythya australis*"](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22680387/112385790). *[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species](/source/IUCN_Red_List)*. **2017** e.T22680387A112385790. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22680387A112385790.en](https://doi.org/10.2305%2FIUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22680387A112385790.en). Retrieved 12 November 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-BA_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-BA_2-1) ["Hardhead: *Aythya australis*"](https://web.archive.org/web/20220318005257/https://www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/hardhead). Birdlife Australia. Archived from [the original](https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/Hardhead) on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Distribution_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Distribution_3-1) Carboneras, C.; Kirwan, G.M. (2020). Del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi; Christie, David; De Juana, Eduardo (eds.). "Hardhead: *Aythya australis*". *Birds of the World*. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2173/bow.wheduc1.01](https://doi.org/10.2173%2Fbow.wheduc1.01). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [226085401](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:226085401).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Carboneras, C. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Hardhead (*Aythya australis*), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.wheduc1.01

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Backyards_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Backyards_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Backyards_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Backyards_5-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Backyards_5-4) ["Hardhead: *Aythya australis*"](https://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Aythya-australis). *Birds in backyards*. Birdlife Australia. Retrieved 9 February 2021.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Aythya australis](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Aythya_australis).

[Wikispecies](/source/Wikispecies) has information related to ***[Aythya australis](https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Aythya_australis)***.

- [BirdLife Species Factsheet](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/hardhead-aythya-australis)

Taxon identifiers Aythya australis Wikidata: Q781886 Wikispecies: Aythya australis ADW: Aythya_australis AFD: Aythya_(Nyroca)_australis Avibase: ABEF107CAB6BE33B BirdLife: 22680387 BirdLife-Australia: hardhead BOW: wheduc1 CoL: K56Q eBird: wheduc1 EoL: 45515924 GBIF: 2498269 iNaturalist: 7051 IRMNG: 10594658 ITIS: 175136 IUCN: 22680387 NCBI: 45635 NZBO: australian-white-eyed-duck NZOR: e7cd12e6-b0d0-4bf9-ab76-8a6b0124ff2e Observation.org: 70510 OBIS: 225997 Open Tree of Life: 962759 Paleobiology Database: 367976 WoRMS: 225997 Xeno-canto: Aythya-australis

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hardhead](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardhead) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardhead?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.