- Dendrocygna eytoni
Identification
40–45 cm (15¾-17¾ in)
- Tall bird with a long neck
- Pale face and foreneck
- Light brown hind neck and crown
- Brown upper back
- Chestnut breast with black bars
- Pink and grey bill
- Pink feet and legs
Sexes similar
Similar Species
Paler than Wandering Whistling Duck
Distribution
Asia and Australia:
Southeast Asia: Indonesia
Australasia: New Guinea, Australia: Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Margins of lagoons, pools, swamps, marshes, mangroves. Particularly fond of plains, grassland and meadows.
Behaviour
They form large, communal, mixed-species daytime roosts.
Diet
They have a basically vegetarian diet, eating grasses, herbs, sedges, and seeds. They feed at night and may fly some distance to the feeding grounds.
Breeding
The nest is a grass-lined ground scrape sheltered by a bush or some other vegetation. The clutch consists of 10-12 white eggs, and both adults share the incubation and rearing duties. They are monogamous, forming a bond which may be for life.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Oct 2017)
- Birds in Backyards
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Plumed Whistling Duck. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Plumed_Whistling_Duck
