A male Paradise Shelduck looking after its progeny.
Male (black head) and female (second photo, white head).
We usually see them in mated pairs. This is a single female though.
The Paradise Shelduck, Tadorna variegata, is a large goose-like duck endemic to New Zealand. They are known to the MÄÂori as PÅ«tangitangi but now commonly referred to as the "Paradise duck", and are prized game birds. Both the male and female have striking plumage, the male has a black head and barred black body, the female a white head with a chestnut body.
