The lighting this morning was perfect for catching the beauty of this Pacific Black Duck making her morning ablutions. I think this bird is a female, because the crown of the head and the feathers on the back are brown rather than black.

She spent many minutes preening, immersing herself in the water, then preening again.

It was fascinating to see how the colour of her wing patches changed, depending on the lighting and the angle. In the first photo above, the patch is green. Here it’s purple:

In this wing stretch, it’s as if she has different colours on each wing, one green and one blue:

Common name: Pacific Black Duck
Scientific name: Anas superciliosa
Approximate length: 45-60 cm
Date spotted: 25 December 2023 (summer)
Location: Manly Dam park, near Sydney: 33°46’35.0″S 151°14’50.2″E