We travelled from Canberra to Eden today to see the whales. Made lots of stops for bird photos and we stopped at a lake at Bega and saw this bird. At first I thought he was a magpie goose but he had this red face see photo one. Also he was a lovely irridescent green colour on his back. He was definitely a water bird. Have checked my bird book and also Morcomb's app on my phone cannot find it, can anyone help
Diane.
It's a Muscovy duck, most likely a drake
I agree, a (pied) Muscovy - given that it's pied/mottled around the breast & neck generally (but not always) means it has descended from a long long line of domestic muscovies. They sure are interesting looking ducks!
West Coast Tasmania
Thanks for the identification - I could not find it in my bird book - so googled muscovy duck and there he was - strange looking bird.
Diane