Editing Pink-eared duck

{{short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Pink-eared duck
| image = Pink-eared duck - Pitt Town Lagoon.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 13 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Malacorhynchus membranaceus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22680336A92856515 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22680336A92856515.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Malacorhynchus
| species = membranaceus
| authority = ([[John Latham (ornithologist)|Latham]], 1801)
| range_map = Malacorhynchus membranaceus distribution map.png
| range_map_caption = Distribution map of the pink-eared duck
}}

The '''pink-eared duck''' ('''''Malacorhynchus membranaceus''''') is a species of [[duck]] found in [[Australia]].

== Description ==
The pink-eared duck has a large spatulate bill like the [[Australasian shoveler]], but is smaller at 38–40&nbsp;cm length. Its brown back and crown, black and white barred sides and black eye patches on its otherwise white face make this [[bird]] unmistakable. Juveniles are slightly duller, but otherwise all plumages are similar. Its vernacular name refers to a pink spot in the corner formed by the black head pattern; it is only noticeable at close distance however, making the seldom-used Australian name of '''zebra duck''' more appropriate.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Marchant |first=Stephen |title=Handbook of Australian, New Zealand [and] Antarctic birds |last2=Higgins |first2=Peter Jeffrey |date=1990 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-553244-9 |location=Melbourne}}</ref>

==Taxonomy and systematics==
The pink-eared duck was first described by the English ornithologist [[John Latham (ornithologist)|John Latham]] in 1801 under the [[binomial name]] ''Anas membranacea''.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Latham | first=John | author-link=John Latham (ornithologist) | year=1801 | title=Supplementum indicis ornithologici sive systematis ornithologiae | place=London | publisher=Leigh & Sotheby | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33261443 | page=lxix }}</ref> It is the only living member of the genus ''Malacorhynchus''; a closely related, but slightly larger extinct form from [[New Zealand]] was described as [[Scarlett's duck]] (''Malacorhynchus scarletti''). This peculiar duck may be most closely related to the [[Tadorninae|shelducks]] but its relationships are enigmatic. It may be closer to the [[musk duck]] and the [[stiff-tail]]s and, formerly placed in the [[paraphyletic]] "[[perching duck]]s"; it is in any case not close to the [[dabbling duck]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sraml |first=M. |last2=Christidis |first2=L. |last3=Easteal |first3=S. |last4=Horn |first4=P. |last5=Collet |first5=C. |date=1996 |title=Molecular Relationships Within Australasian Waterfowl (Anseriformes) |url=https://www.publish.csiro.au/zo/ZO9960047 |journal=Australian Journal of Zoology |language=en |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=47–58 |doi=10.1071/zo9960047 |issn=1446-5698|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

This species is the only member of the order Anseriformes known to have carotenoid pigments in its feathers, in the characteristic pink "ear" spot.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Thomas, D.B. |author2=McGraw, K.J. |author3=Butler, M.W. |author4=Carrano, M.T. |author5=Madden, O. |author6=James, H.F. |year= 2014 |title= Ancient origins and multiple appearances of carotenoid-pigmented feathers in birds. |journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume= 281 |issue= 1788 |pages=20140806 |doi= 10.1098/rspb.2014.0806|pmid=24966316 |pmc=4083795}}</ref>

The pink-eared duck was reportedly known as the New Holland duck by early colonists in Western Australia.<ref name= "Gray">{{Cite book |last=Gray |first=Jeannie |title=Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide |last2=Fraser |first2=Ian |publisher=Csiro |year=2013 |isbn=9780643104709}}</ref>

==Distribution==
Widely distributed throughout Australia and highly mobile, these ducks can appear anywhere there is standing water, especially in dry inland regions, where annual rainfall rarely exceeds {{convert|15|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name=":0" />

==Food==
[[File:Malacorhynchus membranaceus -Central Park Zoo, New York, USA-8a.jpg|thumb|right|At [[Central Park Zoo]], New York, United States]]
They are dependent on [[plankton]], as well as [[crustacean]]s, [[mollusk]]s and [[insect]]s. Their bill is well designed for straining minute organisms, with pliable [[mandible|mandibular]] flaps that channel water in a manner that allow the ducks to filter algae and other plankton efficiently. They also feed by vortexing, in which two ducks spin about a central point with the head of one opposite the tail of the other, concentrating food in a gyrating water column.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Macdonald |first=James D. |title=The illustrated dictionary of Australian birds by common name |date=1987 |publisher=Reed |isbn=978-0-7301-0184-0 |location=Frenchs Forest, NSW}}</ref>
==Breeding==
Nesting is stimulated by the drying and filling of pools that promote increased levels of organic material. In good years, large numbers of pink-eared ducks concentrate in shallow flood plains. However, when conditions do not meet specifications, reproduction may be completely curtailed.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic birds |date=1990 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-553996-7 |location=Melbourne}}</ref>
== Relationship with humans ==
The pink-eared duck is hunted in all regions in [[Australia]] except [[Tasmania]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Byrne |first=Jack |title=Duck hunting in Australia and New Zealand |date=1974 |publisher=Reed |isbn=978-0-589-00757-7 |location=Wellington [N.Z.]}}</ref> According to [[Australia]]n studies, [[Waterfowl hunting|duck hunting]] with [[shotgun]]s causes injuries. An [[X-ray]] study of ducks caught using nets in [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]] found that between 6% and 19% of all hunted ducks live with embedded [[Shotgun cartridge|shot]] [[Shot (pellet)|pellets]] in their [[Body (biology)|bodies]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Norman |first=Fi |date=1976 |title=The Incidence of Lead Shotgun Pellets in Waterfowl (Anatidae and Rallidae) Examined in South-Eastern Australia Between 1957 and 1973. |url=http://www.publish.csiro.au/?paper=WR9760061 |journal=Wildlife Research |language=en |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=61 |doi=10.1071/WR9760061 |issn=1035-3712|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The activity is opposed by [[animal welfare]] groups who consider the practice to be unacceptably cruel.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Duck hunting |url=https://www.rspca.org.au/key-issues/duck-hunting/ |access-date=2024-08-19 |website=RSPCA Australia |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q917578}}

[[Category:Tadorninae]]
[[Category:Ducks|pink-eared duck]]
[[Category:Endemic birds of Australia]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1801]]