Freckled duck

The freckled duck (Stictonetta naevosa) is a waterfowl species endemic to Australia and is considered to be amongst the rarest waterfowl in the world. The freckled duck has also been referred to as the monkey duck or the oatmeal duck (in English), Punktchenente (in German), canard mouchete (in French) and pato manchado (in Spanish) (21). These birds are usually present in mainland Australia, but disperse to coastal and subcostal wetlands in the dry period. During such times it is common for the freckled duck population to congregate in flocks inhabiting the same environment, giving the impression that they are more common than they really are. (16).