Studies of waterfowl (Anatidae) in north Queensland. 1. Introduction, species, distribution and habitat.

Abstract

Ecological studies of waterfowl in tropical Queensland were undertaken from 1958 to 1964. Fifteen of the 19 species of Anatidae indigenous to the Australian continent were sighted in north Queensland, mainly in the region between the two extremes of a limited lush wet coastal area and the widespread arid interior. Species were distributed as four groups: one common only on the coastal plains; one more common inland; one common in both regions; and one comprising vagrants in North Queensland. Ten habitat types, each with characteristic physiographical features, provided waterfowl habitat similar to that reported from other parts of Australia; the commonest and most widely used were swamps (early in the year) and lagoons (later, as a result of the marked decrease in shallow-water areas during the prolonged annual dry season). Some species characteristically used combinations of other habitat types in the course of a year.