---
title: "Hardhead"
description: "Aythya australis — Uccelli. The hardhead (Aythya australis), also known as the white-eyed duck, is the only true diving duck found in Australia."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/hardhead
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Hardhead

> Aythya australis — Uccelli. The hardhead (Aythya australis), also known as the white-eyed duck, is the only true diving duck found in Australia.

- Scientific name: *Aythya australis*
- Category: `birds` (Uccelli)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Laghi e fiumi)
- iNaturalist observations: 7273
- Wikidata: [Q781886](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q781886)
- iNaturalist taxon: [7051](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7051)

## Names

- en: Hardhead
- de: Tasmanmoorente
- es: Porrón australiano
- fr: Fuligule austral
- nl: Australische witoogeend
- pt: Zarro-australiano
- pl: Podgorzałka australijska

## Countries with the most observations

AU (7122), NC (9), PG (4), ID (3), NZ (3)

## Summary

The hardhead (Aythya australis), also known as the white-eyed duck, is the only true diving duck found in Australia. The common name "hardhead" has nothing to do with the density of the bird's skull, instead referring to the difficulty encountered by early taxidermists in processing the head. Hardheads are found in wetter, coastal regions of Australia, particularly in the south-east, but are known to disperse as far afield as New Guinea, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardhead

## Photo

![Hardhead](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/hardhead/medium.jpg)

Photo: John Cull · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/250249562

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/hardhead?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).