blue ducks

Blue duck is native to New Zealand and can ONLY be found in New Zealand.   They are a type of bird whose Maori name is whio, because the male makes a sound like ‘feee-o’.      They get their name from their grey/blue feathers which camouflage them against the rocks in rivers.

They are a dark slate grey and their beaks are a pinkish white. They have long wings. The chicks have short wings. They are yellow and black.

Blue ducks eat insects, worms and trout. They also eat fruit and alpine plants

Blue ducks live in clean fast-flowing rivers and nest in hollow logs,small caves which are rocky, and other sheltered spots. They live in central parts of the North Island the the west coast of the South Island and they rely on fast flowing rivers so they can’t be taken to predator-free islands.The blue duck’s habitat has been seriously affected by pollution and the hydro-power dams for watering paddocks and crops.   But the biggest threat to the blue duck is predators.  

Did you know blue ducks predators are only stoats , rats ,cats , dogs and possums.

Possums carry diseases but all the other predators just kill them.

The blue duck is on our NZ ten dollar note thats why the note is blue and that’s why the blue duck is so special to NZ.