Animals

Breeding season: September to February. Clutch size is three to four. Builds a deep cup nest with a narrow top opening in amongst dense reeds. Made from dry reeds and other water plants woven together and lined with fine dry grass and feathers. Females incubate the eggs.

Breeding season: June to December. Clutch size is three to four. They nest along tree-lined creeks and rivers. Eggs are laid in the abandoned stick nests of other birds, usually high in a tree. The female mainly incubates the eggs, broods and feeds the young, while males hunt.

Breeding season: July to December. Clutch size is two to five. Nocturnal. Forms permanent bonds throughout the year. Both sexes build the nest in the hollows of trees. Both sexes incubate eggs and care for the young.

Breeding season: August to January, but late April recorded. They nest in swamps or lakes in a variety of vegetation types, such as rushes, grass, low shrubs and water-lilies. They may also nest on overhanging tree branches or on the ground. Some nests have a stage or track leading to them. Nests can vary from a flat, flimsy structure to a cup of fine, woven material, sometimes with a dome or with rushes interlaced over the nest. Nests are made of rushes or grass and lined with soft grass.

Breeding season: spring - autumn, after heavy rains. Females lay approximately 300 pigmented eggs, in a floating foam mass which is often partly attached to grasses. Eggs hatch three days after being laid. Males call from concealed floating vegetation within waterbodies.

Viviparous (live young). Females give birth to between 2 and 6 live young. Gregarious, meaning living in small groups. Long-lived with a lifespan of up to 8 years. Moult 3 to 5 times a year.

Nocturnal. Camouflages well during the day. Will lie flat on the ground or disappear amongst foliage to escape observation. Breeds August-January. Two eggs are laid in a shallow scrape in the ground with both parents sharing the incubation and care of the young. Abundance in Victoria has declined markedly due to predation by foxes and feral cats, and changes in land use.

Breeding season in southern Australia is from August to November. This species does not build its own nest but occupies nests built by other bird species. The nest is often relined. The female lays a clutch of 2-3 eggs which are incubated for 31-35 days chiefly by the female but the male will also take this role at times. The male supplies most of the food during this time. The young fly at 30 days.

Breeding season from August to December in the southern parts of Australia. They lay two (sometimes three) eggs that are white, blotched with brown and purple. Incubation is by both sexes and lasts 30 days. The young fly at 14 weeks.

Range from viviparous (live bearing) to oviparous (egg laying).