Freckled Duck (Stictonetta naevosa) Fact Sheet: Reproduction & Development

Mating system

• Short-term, sequential monogamous pair bond (Fullagar et al. 1990; Marchant and Higgins 1990)
  • Pair bond likely maintained briefly (Fullagar et al. 1990)
  • Not precisely known when pair bond breaks down (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
    • Appears to vary in managed care (Phoebe Vaughan, personal communication, 2018)
• Polygamy observed in managed care; may be due to managed care conditions (Fullagar et al. 1990)
  • Possibly occurs in the wild

Courtship behavior and copulation

• Courtship displays and pair bond formation (Marchant and Higgins 1990 except as noted)
  • Not well understood; rarely observed in the wild
  • Possibly, several males display to a receptive female (courtship) and to one other (male–male competition)
    • Daytime displays may occur near potential nest sites
  • Female chooses male and pair bond formation begins
    • Male defends female
  • Also see Axle-Grind Display in “Visual communication”
• Copulation
  • Female responds to male’s courtship display (Fullagar et al. 1990; Marchant and Higgins 1990)
    • Stretches head forward and raises tail
  • Male mounts, grasping female low on neck (Fullagar et al. 1990)
  • Copulation lasts 10 sec or longer (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
• After copulation, female bathes and both sexes preen (Fullagar et al. 1990)
• Copulation not often repeated (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
  • Not used to reinforce pair bonds, as is common in Anatidae
  • Short-term pair bonds in Freckled Duck

Sexual maturity

• By two years of age (in managed care) (Carboneras and Kirwan 2018; Phoebe Vaughan, personal communication, 2018)
• Not reported for Freckled Duck in the wild

Breeding range

• Mainly breed in southeastern Australia and inland Australia (Frith 1965; Richard Kingsford, personal communication, 2019)
  • Less common in southwestern Australia

Breeding season

• Egg laying June-December (Marchant and Higgins 1990) or after suitable rainfall (Pizzey and Knight 2012)
  • More restricted in southwestern Australia (October-December) (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
  • In years with early flooding, can occur during March and April (Frith 1965; Jaensch 2003)
• Young hatch January-February (southeastern Australia) (Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)
• Breeding season variable (Braithwaite and Frith 1969b)
  • Like other ducks, timing is strongly influenced by seasonal flooding (changing water levels in marshes) (Frith 1967; Braithwaite and Frith 1969b; Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)
    • Influences food availability
    • Breeding prolonged during years of abundant rainfall (Johnsgard 2010)

Breeding habitat

• Prefer freshwater marshes with heavy vegetation and newly flooded creeks (Frith 1967; Chapman and Lane 1997; Johnsgard 2010, and as noted)
  • Inland
    • Lignum (Duma florulenta) marshes
    • Cattail or cumbungi (Typha) marshes
  • Coast
    • Tea tree (Melaleuca, Leptospermum) marshes (Marchant and Higgins 1990; Jaensch 2003)
• Nest solitarily
  • Nests spaced more than 100 m (330 ft) apart
• Also see Habitat

Breeding success

• Unknown (Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)

Characteristics

• Shape
  • Bowl-shaped (Frith 1967)
• Materials (Frith 1967; Carboneras and Kirwan 2018, and as noted)
  • Sticks and twigs
  • Plant debris
  • Feather down (Jaensch 2003)
    • May help to incubate the eggs and/or prevent breakage as parent rotates eggs during incubation (Frith 1967)
• Diameter of nest
  • 380-480 mm (15-19 in) (n=3) (Braithwaite 1976)
• Depth of nest
  • 120-170 mm (4.7-6.7 in) (n=3) (Braithwaite 1976)

Construction

• Typically constructed near water (Braithwaite 1976)
  • Built among reed beds, lignum (Muehlenbeckia cunninghamii), or on water (Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)
    • Sometimes on stream banks or in billabong
    • Vegetation around nest creates shelter and concealment
  • Nests probably built close to water level but may become elevated as waters recede (Frith 1967; Johnsgard 2010)
• Male builds nest (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
  • Sometimes builds before female’s arrival at nest site [observation from managed care] (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
  • Male gathers plant materials from area surrounding nest site (Braithwaite 1976; Marchant and Higgins 1990; Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)
    • Collects as loose debris or by breaking off from plant (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
    • Weaves materials together into well-formed cup (Jaensch 2003; Pizzey and Knight 2012)
• Female plucks feather down while laying (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
• Freckled Duck reported to use abandoned nests of other birds, especially coots (Fulica) (Marchant and Higgins 1990; Pizzey and Knight 2012; Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)

Egg description

• Shape
  • Oval (Frith 1967)
• Size
  • 63 x 47 mm (2.5 x 1.9 in), on average (Frith 1967)
• Weight
  • 75.9 g (2.68 oz), on average (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
• Shell (Frith 1967; Marchant and Higgins 1990; Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)
  • Pale creamy-white
  • Glossy
  • Smooth

Egg laying

• Clutch size
  • 7 eggs, on average (range: 5-10) (Johnsgard 1965; Johnsgard 2010; Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)
    • More eggs many be present in cases of “egg dumping” (when a female lays eggs in another bird’s nest) (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
• Interclutch interval
  • Unknown
  • One exceptional case of a female in managed care laying 72 eggs over 7 months, with an average of 6 (range: 2-17) days between clutches (Marchant and Higgins 1990)

Incubation and hatching

• Incubation period
  • 26-31 days (Marchant and Higgins 1990; Carboneras and Kirwan 2018; Phobe Vaughan, personal communication, 2018)
• Young remain in nest for 24 hours after hatching (Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)
  • Then, taken to water by female

Duckling description

• Weight at hatching
  • About 40-50 g (1.4-1.7 oz) [needs confirmation] (Frith 1964; Marchant and Higgins 1990; Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)
• Description
  • Plumage (Frith 1964; Frith 1967)
    • Upperparts light gray-brown
      • No contrasting pattern, unlike young of other Australian duck species
    • Underparts almost white
    • Underwing pale gray
  • Bill
    • Blue-gray with pink spot on tip (Frith 1964; Frith 1967)
      • Blue tone is lost before fledging (Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)
  • Legs and feet
    • Blue-gray with buff-colored webbing (Frith 1967)
    • Claws brown (Frith 1967)
  • Eyes
    • Iris black-brown (Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)

Prior to hatching

• Male defends a small area around nest site (Fullagar et al. 1990)
• Both parents attack, chase, or attempt to deceive potential egg predators (Braithwaite 1976)
  • Distraction display
    • Parent pretends to have a broken wing
  • Loud snort-hiss-grunt vocalizations
• Only female incubates eggs (Johnsgard 2010; Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)
• Female typically leaves nest to feed in late afternoon (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
• Male–female pair bond suspected to be short, but may vary (Fullagar et al. 1990; Marchant and Higgins 1990; Phobe Vaughan, personal communication, 2018)
  • Some males leave female after egg laying, some remain during incubation

After hatching

• Mother very protective of young for about five weeks (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
  • Chases threats away with bill open, wings folded, and shoulder feathers raised (“bristly” in appearance)
  • Gives loud growls
• Mother leaves young after about 40-45 days, especially if laying more egg clutches (Marchant and Higgins 1990)

Duckling

• Description
  • See Incubation and Hatching
• First feathers visible at 14-23 days of age (Frith 1967)
• First signs of feather color and pattern by three weeks (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
• Siblings stay together until well after fledging (Marchant and Higgins 1990)

Juvenile

• Fledge at about 7-9 weeks of age (Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)
  • Siblings stay together after fledging (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
    • Duration unknown
• Juvenile plumage develops by 9 weeks of age (Frith 1965)
• Male begins to show red bill base coloration at about 6 months of age (Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)

Adult

• Adult plumage develops at about 6-8 months of age (Marchant and Higgins 1990)

Wild populations

• Unknown (Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)

Managed care

• Median life expectancy
  • No AZA estimates

Survival rates

• Young
  • Unknown (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
• Adults
  • Unknown (Carboneras and Kirwan 2018)

Predators

• Not reported
• Possibly Swamp Harrier (Circus approximans) (Marchant and Higgins 1990)
  • One Harrier observed hovering over a female Freckled Duck; female attempted to evade the Harrier

Freckled Duck hatchlings have a uniform light gray-brown color, unlike the strong contrasting patterns of other duck young.

Siblings may stay together after fledging, which occurs at about 7 to 9 weeks of age.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

The Freckled Duck constructs a bowl-shaped nest made of plants and feather down.

Often built among reeds, tall vegetation around the nest creates a "screen" so incubating females are not easily seen by predators.

Image credit: Photograph by Phoebe Vaughan. © Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. All rights reserved.

Image location: WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre (Gloucestershire, England)