This morning on my way to work, as I passed by the lakes at University
of Qld (Brisbane) I saw a Purple Swamphen with a Wood Duck duckling in
its beak (which was very much still alive and kicking).
I didn't see the "catch" but the Swamphen had clearly hunted it rather
than scavenged it.
Cheers
Mat
To: "Canberrabirds" <>
Subject: Purple Swamphen and Duckling
From: "Esme Barker and bruce Ramsay" <>
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:49:55 +1000
This morning as I was running around Pt Hut Pond, I disturbed a Purple
Swamphen which ran from the shortish grass it had been walking across
towards the taller sedge-type growth at the waters edge. I was a bit
surprised to see a small form dangling from the Swamphen's bill and it
took me a second or two to realise it was a duckling. It was either
freshly dead or close to death as it was just flopping and swinging
side to side limply as the bird ran for cover and disappeared from
view.
A quick googling using the terms "purple swamphen" and food found a
Museum of Australia Fact Sheet which says, "will also eat ducklings
when it can catch them". (None of my limited reference books at home
make mention of ducklings as a food source).
On Monday at the same spot there was a pair of Australian Wood Ducks
with one duckling visible and yesterday the same pair (I assume) was
there again, this time with 2 small ducklings.
Although I neither saw the Swamphen kill nor devour the duckling and I
am unaware of how often this is observed in the ACT (or Australia, for
that matter), I think that what I saw was most probably an example of
the predatory, carnivorous behaviour mentioned in the Museum Fact
Sheet.
Bruce
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