The species is found on terrestrial wetlands in temperate regions, that are freshwater to saline, and may be natural or artificial. It nests in rushes, sedges, Lignum Muehlenbeckia cunninghamii and paperbark Melaleuca, and it lays 5-6 eggs. It feeds on aquatic insect larvae, seeds and plant matter. During autumn and winter the species aggregates in large flocks but disperses to smaller waterbodies when breeding. Aggregations also occur during drought.

Blue-billed Ducks occur across much of south-eastern Australia from southern Queensland to eastern South Australia including the entire Murray-Darling basin and through wetter parts of south-western Australia (Marchant and Higgins 1990). The Western Treatment Plant in Werribee, Victoria is particularly important (Loyn et al. 2014a; Menkhorst et al. 2018, 2019). The scatter of inland records, including breeding records, suggests there may be at least some interchange between east and west, though there is no evidence that this occurs.

Conservation Actions Underway
Blue-billed Ducks are regularly monitored along with game species in Victoria, where there is a strong link between counts and management (Menkhorst 2019; Menkhorst et al. 2018, 2019). They are also included in other regular waterbird count data (Clemens et al. 2019), although they are difficult to detect from the air.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Identify major perennial wetlands used by the species for breeding and moulting, and protect them against further degradation. Continue to monitor population size and trends.