Freckled Duck

Open encyclopedia reference

The freckled duck (Stictonetta naevosa) is a waterfowl species endemic to Australia. The freckled duck has also been referred to as the monkey duck or oatmeal duck. These birds are usually present in mainland Australia, but disperse to coastal and subcoastal wetlands in the dry period. During such times it is common for the freckled duck population to congregate in flocks in the same area, giving the impression that they are more common than they really are. The freckled duck population is at risk of further reduction from habitat destruction, droughts and game hunting. Often habitat destruction and drought can lead to an increase in hunting, as the freckled duck is forced to disperse into more coastal ranges where they may not be recognised as being a protected species. In the past few decades, several institutions have established breeding programs to aid in supplementation of the freckled duck population. Such establishments included, but are not restricted to the Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia, Slimbridge Wetlands, Melbourne Zoo, Bronx Zoo, Adelaide Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary, and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.

Wikipedia contributors, Freckled duck; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:23:59.812404+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Stictonetta naevosa (Gould, 1841)

Name authority

(Gould, 1841)

Common name

Freckled Duck

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Anseriformes

Family

Anatidae

Genus

Stictonetta

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderAnseriformes
10. familyAnatidae Leach, 1820
11. genusStictonetta Reichenbach, 1853
12. speciesStictonetta naevosa (Gould, 1841)

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 129 records assigned to Anatidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=175230 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:52KCT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.