Australian shelduck
Tadorna tadornoides (Jardine & Selby, 1828)
The Australian shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides) is a species in the family Anatidae, order Anseriformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.29 kg to 1.56 kg and live up to 8.25 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the Australian shelduck
- Weight
- 1.29 kg – 1.56 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 94 cm – 1.32 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 8.25 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 30 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 8.9 – 10.2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
How big is the Australian shelduck?
Where does the Australian shelduck live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The Australian shelduck is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Why a country list is not a range map
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the Australian shelduck?
The Australian shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides), also known as the chestnut-breasted shelduck or mountain duck, is a shelduck, a group of large goose-like ducks part of the bird family Anatidae. The genus name Tadorna comes from Celtic roots and means "pied waterfowl". They have a striking chestnut-coloured breast and black body. They are protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.
From the Wikipedia article “Australian shelduck” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Australian_shelduck&oldid=1363921702), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the Australian shelduck endangered?
The Australian shelduck is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the Australian shelduck classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusTadorna
- SpeciesTadorna tadornoides (Jardine & Selby, 1828)
Synonyms Anas tadornoides, Casarca tadornoides, Casarca tadornoides westralis, Nettalopex tadornina, Tadorna tadornoides westralis
Other names and names in other languages (42)
- Chestnut-breasted shelduckEnglish
- Chestnut-breasted shelduckEnglish
- Mountain duckEnglish
- شهرمان أستراليArabic
- شهرمان كستنائي الصدرArabic
- ànec australiàCatalan
- husice australskáCzech
- hwyaden fraith AwstraliaWelsh
- Australsk GravandDanish
- HalsbandgansGerman
- Australische KasarkaGerman
- Halsband-KasarkaGerman
- HalsbandkasarkaGerman
- aŭstralia tadornoEsperanto
- Tarro australianoSpanish
- billabongipartEstonian
- australiansorsaFinnish
- Tadorne d'AustralieFrench
- Tadorne d’AustralieFrench
- קזרקה אוסטרליתHebrew
- riđoprsa utvaCroatian
- ausztrál ásólúdHungarian
- Casarca australianaItalian
- クビワアカツクシガモJapanese
- australinė urvinė antisLithuanian
- Australische CasarcaDutch
- Australische BergeendDutch
- Australische CascaraDutch
- praktrustandNorwegian
- kazarka obrożnaPolish
- pato-australianoPortuguese
- tadorna-australianaPortuguese
- Австралийский огарьRussian
- Австралийская пеганкаRussian
- kazarka čiernohlaváSlovak
- Australijska utvaSerbian
- australisk gravandSwedish
- Australisk rostandSwedish
- Avustralya AngıtıTurkish
- галагаз австралійськийUkrainian
- 棕胸麻鴨Chinese
- 棕胸麻鸭Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the Australian shelduck
Other species in the same genus Tadorna.
Ruddy shelduck
Tadorna ferruginea
Common shelduck
Tadorna tadorna
Paradise shelduck
Tadorna variegata
South African shelduck
Tadorna cana
Crested shelduck
Tadorna cristata
CompareAustralian shelduck vs Ruddy shelduckAustralian shelduck vs Common shelduckAustralian shelduck vs Paradise shelduckAustralian shelduck vs South African shelduck
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the Australian shelduck?
An adult Australian shelduck weighs 1.29 kg – 1.56 kg and has a wingspan of 94 cm – 1.32 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Where does the Australian shelduck live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the Australian shelduck for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
Is the Australian shelduck endangered?
The Australian shelduck is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the Australian shelduck live?
The Australian shelduck has a recorded lifespan of 8.25 years.
What kind of animal is the Australian shelduck?
The Australian shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides) belongs to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Australian shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/australian-shelduck
“Australian shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/australian-shelduck.
@misc{australian_shelduck_2026,
title = {Australian shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/australian-shelduck},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}