Listen to the blue duck
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the blue duck
The blue duck is a bird in the family Anatidae (order Anseriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “endangered”. Adults weigh around 897 g.
What does the blue duck sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as blue-duck. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The blue duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos) or whio is a member of the duck, goose and swan family, Anatidae and is endemic to New Zealand. It is the only individual species belonging to the genus Hymenolaimus. Its closest relatives are the ducks in the genus Sarkidiornis.
First seen and recorded by the British explorer, James Cook in his second voyage to New Zealand, its scientific name was given by the German naturalist, Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789 and later George Robert Gray in 1843. There are two subspecies of the blue duck, one in North Island and the other in South Island. Common to both gender, its physical characteristics include yellow iris, a pale grey beak with semicircular flaps and lamellae, dark-slate grey plumage, chestnut flecked breast, dark grey webbed feet, and well developed claws. The male blue duck has a high-pitched whistle, which gave its Māori name Whio, while the female has a low-pitched rattle.
More from the family Anatidae
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
Greylag goose
Anser anser
Northern pintail
Anas acuta
Mute swan
Cygnus olor
Eurasian teal
Anas crecca
Ruddy shelduck
Tadorna ferruginea
Gadwall
Mareca strepera
Whooper swan
Cygnus cygnus
Eurasian wigeon
Mareca penelope
Common shelduck
Tadorna tadorna
Tufted duck
Aythya fuligula
Common pochard
Aythya ferina
Frequently asked questions
What does a blue duck sound like?
You can hear 1 recording of the blue duck on this page, including its blue-duck. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the blue duck endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the blue duck as “endangered”.
What family does the blue duck belong to?
The blue duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos) belongs to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.
Sources & credits
- Blue-duck – CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q420499 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Blue duck – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Michelle Lambert – CC BY-SA 4.0