female inciting a male to attack other mates or females and the winner of the fight is then chosen as a partner. The paradise shelduck can nest in a variety of places including inside hollow logs, under fallen logs, in-ground holes or trees up to high, rabbit burrows, under haystacks, piles of fence posts, tussocks, in rock crevices, under buildings, among tree roots, or in culverts. Clutches usually range from 5 to 15 eggs with an average of 8 to 10, with most clutches numbering over 12 being a collective nest from two females. The success rate for eggs laid is 83% hatched and a survival rate from hatchlings is 89%. The incubation period lasts for 30 to 35 days with only the female looking after the nest 21 to 22 hours a day only leaving at dawn and dusk for food for 1 hour each; the male only stands next to the nest after the eggs have hatched. The fledging period for the downy young lasts on average eight weeks, parenting is shared during this time with the young feeding independently and being kept close to the nest in a radius of around . They typically live on average 2.3 years, although some individuals live longer, with the longest lived individual aging 23 years. The moulting season lasts from December to February, with these moulting flocks being an important food source for the early Māori people. Māori did not hunt the birds during the breeding seasons as to conserve populations, rather hunting during the moulting season when the birds could not fly, this selective hunting ensured healthy populations for culling. During the moulting season, distinct flocks will gather at traditional sites, the one and two-year-old birds arrive first, followed by the failed breeders, and then by the successful breeders arriving late January. At moulting sites, the birds gather in open water with high open hillsides surrounding them acting as vantage points, many sites also have dense vegetation for refuge. Early departures from moulting sites begin in March and April, where adults will return to their distinct breeding territories. Food and feeding The paradise shelduck is a diurnal omnivore. The adults are primarily herbivorous preferring pasture grasses and clover while the young eat mostly aquatic insects for the first five weeks of life before grazing on land. They can feed on a variety of food including grazing or pasture crops,