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Post-moult dispersal of Paradise Shelducks (Tadorna variegata) in the Wanganui district was examined during 1987 and 1988 from hunting season band recoveries. Birds were banded at five locations, two coastal (Lakes Waipu and Marahau) and three hill country (Kakatahi, Parihauhau, and Mangamahu). Birds banded at different sites dispersed differently, with birds banded at the two coastal sites and Parihauhau more dispersive than those banded at Kakatahi and Mangamahu. Males dispersed more widely than females. Band recoveries were clustered into two separate groups, those from Kakatahi and Mangamahu, and a group comprising birds banded at coastal moulting sites and at Parihauhau. Coastal areas accounted for more than 70% of the hunting effort in the 1987 and 1988 hunting seasons, and it is suggested that the two groups of moulting birds be managed as separate population units.