What is a blue duck?
Blue duck is a type of waterfowl found in New Zealand. Blue ducks are unique in that they did not seem to be related to any other kind of duck and show atypical behavior in other ducks. The scientific name for the blue duck is Hymenolaimus Malacorhynchos .
Endemic species, blue duck lives exclusively in New Zealand. On average 21 inches (53 cm) in length, these ducks are blue gray with brown chest marks. They have yellow eyes, pink accounts and are not strong leaflets.
Blue ducks are territorial and their river stands often have fast moving currents. Unlike many ducks, blue duck can maneuver in fast rapids and stick to large rocks while feeding underwater. Their diet consists of invertebrates and larvae Saddisfly. It seems that blue ducks have been unusual for most ducks for a lifetime and men start in the young care. The nesting occurs in August to November and the nests are produced in caves orslots in the rocks.
The woman puts four to seven eggs that are incubated for about one month. Young people are generally black and white, but have a special shine that masks them when they swim in the water. They also have large legs, disproportionate to their bodies to help them swim in strong rivers. Ducklings remain with their parents for about eight to ten weeks, then find their own territory, usually nearby. Blue ducks have lived for about eight years.
Blue duck has several different common names. In addition to the "blue", which refers to its color, it is also called a duck or a torrent duck, because of its habitat. Another common name is the whistling of the duck, after calling male whistling.
Since 2010, the blue duck population has been approximately 2,000-4,000 and this species was considered endangered. The destruction of habitats is the primary cause of decline, as evidenced by the disappearance of ducks from their former lowland habitats. Among others pThe rivers include the introduction of new species such as Stoats, and the need to compete for food with an increased trout population on New Zealand rivers. In 1997, the New Zealand Ministry of Nature introduced a plan to recover a blue duck to try to save this species. The program was marginally successful, and although the population is still slowly decreasing, it is mostly stable.