Hardhead
species of bird
The hardhead (Aythya australis), also known as the white-eyed duck, is the only true 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 in processing the head. 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, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.
Description
Hardheads are smaller than most ducks, 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). 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.
Distribution and habitat
Hardheads are common in the south-east of Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin, but also in the wetter country near the coasts. They are moderately nomadic in normal years, but disperse widely in times of drought.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q781886. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Hardhead” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.