Blue Duck
Blue Duck at the WWT Arundel, UK
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Genus: Hymenolaimus Gray, 1843 Species: H. WWT Arundel is one of nine Wildfowl and Wetland Nature reserves managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, a Nature conservation The conservation status of a Species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming Extinct because it is either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List) created in 1963 is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living Species of Birds in three extant families the Anhimidae (the screamers Anseranatidae George Robert Gray FRS ( July 8, 1808 - May 6, 1872) was an English zoologist and Author and Year 1843 ( MDCCCXLIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common malacorhynchos
Binomial name
Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos (Gmelin, 1789)
Subspecies
H. Johann Friedrich Gmelin ( August 8, 1748 – November 1, 1804) was a German naturalist, Botanist and Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common In Zoology, as in other branches of Biology, subspecies is the Taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a Species. m. malacorhynchos South Island Blue Duck H. m. hymenolaimus North Island Blue Duck

The Blue Duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos) is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. For duck as a food see Duck (food; for other meanings see Duck (disambiguation. Goose (plural geese) is the English name for a considerable number of Birds belonging to the family Anatidae. Swans are Birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and Ducks Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in In Biological classification, family ( Latin It is the only member of the genus Hymenolaimus, placed in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae after previously being considered part of the paraphyletic "perching duck" assemblage. The Shelducks, genus Tadorna, are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family In Biological classification, family ( Latin The Tadorninae is the shelduck-sheldgoose Subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the Ducks and most duck-like waterfowl In Phylogenetics, a group of organisms is said to be paraphyletic if the group contains its most recent common ancestor but does not contain all The perching ducks ( "Cairininae" or "Cairinini") were previously treated as a small group of ducks in the Duck, Goose and The Māori name is whio, which is an onomatopoetic rendition of the males' call. Onomatopoeia (also spelled onomatopœia, from Greek: ονοματοποιΐα is a Word or a grouping of words that imitates the sound it is describing

This 54 cm long species is an endemic resident breeder in New Zealand, nesting in hollow logs, small caves and other sheltered spots. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. Endemism is the Ecological state of being unique to a place Endemic species are not naturally found elsewhere New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island It is a rare duck, holding territories on fast flowing mountain rivers.

It is a powerful swimmer even in white water, but is reluctant to fly. It is difficult to find, but not particularly wary when located.

The blue duck is a dark slate-grey with a chestnut-flecked breast and a paler bill and eye. The pinkish-white bill has fleshy flaps of skin hanging from the sides of its tip. The male's call is an aspirated whistle, and the female's is a rattling growl.

This is a very localised species now threatened by predation from introduced mammals, competition for its invertebrate food with introduced trout, and damming of mountain rivers for hydroelectric schemes. An invertebrate is an Animal lacking a Vertebral column. The group includes 98% of all animal Species — all animals except those in the Chordate Trout is the common name given to a number of Species of Freshwater Fish belonging to the Salmonidae family The New Zealand Department of Conservation is presently working on recovery programmes in habitats such as the Oparara River area of the West Coast^[1]. The Department of Conservation (In Māori, Te Papa Atawhai) commonly known by its acronym " DOC " is the state sector organisation The Oparara River is a River in the West Coast region of New Zealand 's South Island. Naming To New Zealanders the term 'The Coast' generally refers to the West Coast of the South Island, and 'Coasters' to those that live there

Footnotes

1. ^ Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai: Saving whio on the Oparara

References

• BirdLife International (2006). Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List) created in 1963 is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map, a brief justification of why this species is endangered, and the criteria used

• Madge, Steve & Burn, Hilary (1987): Wildfowl : an identification guide to the ducks, geese and swans of the world. Christopher Helm, London. The Helm Identification Guides are a series of books dealing with the identification of groups of Birds The series include two types of guide those whose ISBN 0-7470-2201-1

External links

• J. Adams; D. Cunningham; J. Molloy; S. Phillipson (1997). Blue duck (Whio) Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos recovery plan 1997 – 2007 (PDF). Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. Retrieved on 2007-11-07. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat
• ARKive: Images and movies of the Blue Duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos)
• BirdLife Species Factsheet.

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