Guay, Patrick-Jean

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A new record for the longest banding recovery distance in Musk Ducks Biziura lobata.

Guay, Patrick

Deakin Research Online

A new record for the longest banding recovery distance in musk ducks Biziura lobata

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Corel la ,  2007,  31(1) :  13-14A NEW RECORD FOR THE LONGEST BANDINGRECOVERY DISTANCE lN MUSK DUCKS Biziura lobataP.-J. GUAYDepartment of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Victoria,3010, AustraliaE-mail: p.guay @pgrad.unimelb.edu.auReceived: 3 October 2006INTRODUCTIONHistorically, there has been much debate as to whetherMusk Ducks Biziura lobata are flightless. Ramsey (1867)states that "They seldom take wing; only upon a fewoccasions have I seen them do so, and these when they havebeen fired at and wounded mortally". Campbell (1901)reports the following correspondence he received suggestingthat Musk Ducks are incapable of flight: "I never saw one fly,and the native tell me they never fly"; "Musk Ducks can nomore be said to actually f ly than, say, f lying-fish".Conversely, one correspondent reported, "I, as an oldbushman, was of opinion that they could [fly]; otherwise itseems to me unaccountable how they could suddenly arrive atswamp, etc., up country, newly-filled or filling by the firstrains". Campbell (1901) also reports that Musk Ducks havebeen shot on the wing in a few instances and presents thefollowing interesting comment from a man from Queensland:"We have a small steam launch here, [...], and go out formoonlight excursions, and when we came to the part whereMusk Ducks congregated, as the launch came up to them,they used to get up and fly, whereas in the daytime theywould merely flutter along the top and dive". Campbelltherefore concludes that Musk Ducks can flv. althoush thevdo so mainly at night.It is now clear that Musk Ducks can fly: a first handaccount of Musk Ducks taking flight has been described(Dickison 1962; Frith 1967) and numerous extra-limitalrecords have been noted in Queensland and WesternAustralia. Brisbane and Shark Bay are at the northern edge oftheir eastern and western distribution respectively, but MuskDucks have been recorded in Broome, WA and NorthernQueensfand (P. Collins pers. comm.; Barrett et al. 2003;Marchant and Higgins 1990). Musk Ducks seem to besedentary on permanent wetlands, but can disperse tocolonise inland water bodies like Lake Eyre after rains (Frith1967). A total of 8l Musk Ducks has been banded ro datethroughout Australia. Although available informationsuggests that Musk Ducks can fly long distances, only onebanded Musk Duck has ever been recovered at a site otherthan where it was banded (ABBBS 2006).OBSERVATIONDuring the 2003 breeding season (August to December),3 | Musk Ducks were banded by the author on LakeWendouree in Ballarat (37'33'5, 14349' E) with metalbands. Eleven ducks were also fitted with a colour band toallow recognition of individuals to perform behaviouralobservations. Since then the water level in Lake Wendoureehas steadily decreased and the Musk Duck population hasdiminished. The lake is now drv and all of the Musk Duckshave dispersed.On 21 February 2006 while performing behaviouralobservations at the Western Treatment Plant in Werribee(WTP; 38'00'5, 144"38' E), a female Musk Duck bandedwith a metal band on the right leg and an orange band on theleft leg was sighted by the author on one of the treatmentponds. The combination of metal and colour band was uniqueand the band number was inferred from that information.That female was banded on Lake Wendouree on 12December 2003. The recovery time was 2 years,2 months,and l5 days and, more interestingly, the distance between thetwo sightings is 86 kilometres, which constitutes a record forthe longest recorded recovery distance for a Musk Duck.DISCUSSIONOnly four other recovery records exist for Musk Ducks.Three of them are birds banded and recovered on LakeWendouree in Ballarat (ABBBS 2006). The only otherrecorded long distance movement for Musk Duck comesfrom a bird banded at Herdsman Lake, Perth (31"56'5,115"47' E), and recovered in Mandurah Estuary (32"32'5,175"42' E; distance of 68 km). Although Herdsmand Lake isnot connected to Mandurah Bay by waterways, which clearlyimplies the bird had to fly, the duck could have swum most ofthe way. Herdsman Lake is situated close to the Swan River(5.5 km) and the ocean (4.5 km). The Musk Duck couldtherefore have flown to the ocean or Swan River and thenswam over the course of seven months to Mandurah Estuary.Musk Ducks are frequently observed displaying and foragingin marine habitat, on Port Philip Bay next to the WTP (pers.obs.). Musk Ducks have also been observed foraging in salineenvironments at Kangaroo Island, South Australia, andEncounter Bay, South Australia (Wood 1960; McCracken1999). The recovery from the WTP constitutes the longestrecovery distance recorded for Musk Duck, but moreimportantly, implies flight, as there are no waters connectingLake Wendouree and the WTP. The female must. therefore.have flown from Ballarat to Werribee.1 31 4 P-J. Guay: New Record for the Longest Banding Recovery Distance in Muck Ducks Corel la  31(1) :  13-14The water level of Lake Wendouree has drasticallydecreased since 2003, when the Musk Duck female wasbanded, and has now dried out. The Musk Duck populationdiminished with retreating water levels and all ducks havenow disappeared. Prior to the lake level decrease, MuskDucks seemed to be quite sedentary in Ballarat. A femalebanded in 1991 was resighted on the lake more than six yearslater (ABBBS 2006). This banding recovery record istherefore the first one to confirm, as Frith (1967) suggested,that although they can be quite sedentary, Musk Ducks candisperse over long distance when local conditions becomeunfavorable.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThis work was part of a study on the mating system, ecology andphylogeography of the Musk Ducks that was supported by fundsprovided by the Australian Bird Study Association, the MelbourneWater Corporation, the Department of Zoology of the University ofMelbourne, the Hollsworth Wildlife Research Endowment, BirdsAustralia, the Royal Zoological Society of NSW, AustralianGeographic, Sigma Xi, the Norman Wettenhall Foundation and the MA Ingram Trust. I would also like to thank Carol Hall and JohnGregurke for their help in the field.REFERENCESABBBS (2006). 'Unpublished recovery data.' (The Australian Bird &Bat Banding Scheme, Department of the Environment andHeritage: Canberra).Barrett, G., Silcocks, A., Bany, S., Cunningham, R. and Poulter, R.(2003). 'The New Atlas of Australian Birds.' (Royal AustralasianOrnithologists Union: Hawthorn East).Campbell, A. i. (1901). 'Nest and Eggs of Australian Birds, Includingthe Geographical Distribution of the Species and PopularObservation Thereon.' (Pawson and Brailsfbrd: Sheffield).Dickison, D. I. (1962). Flight of the Musk Duck (Biziura lobata).Australian Bird Watcher l: 233-234.Frith, H. J. (196'7).'Waterfowl in Australia.' (EasrWest Center Press:Honolulu).Marchant, S. and Higgins, P. J. (1990). 'Handbook of Australian, NewZealand and Antarctic Birds. Vol. 1B: Pelican to Ducks.' (OxfordUniversity Press : Melboume).McCracken, K. G. (1999). 'Systematics, Ecology, and Social Biologyof the Musk Duck (Biziura lobata) of Australia.' PhD Thesis, TheSchool of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana StateUniversity, Baton Rouge, U.S.A.Ramsey, E. P. ( I 867). Illustration of Australian oology. Ibis 3: 413,421 .Wood, V. J. (1960). Recovery of a banded Giant Petrel. SouthAustralian Ornitholosist 23: 42.

A new record for the longest banding recovery distance in Musk Ducks Biziura lobata.

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