Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Dendrocygna bicolor

Order ANSERIFORMES - Family ANATIDAE - Subfamily Dendrocygninae

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Sound
4. Range
5. Habitat
6. Food
7. Behavior
8. Reproduction
9. Conservation Status
10. Other Names

One of the most widespread species of waterfowl in the world, the Fulvous Whistling-Duck has a limited distribution in the southern United States. Its mostly seed-based diet makes it fond of rice-growing areas.

Cool Facts

• In some ways, whistling-ducks act more like swans than ducks. The male helps to take care of the offspring and a mated pair stays bonded for many years.

• Pesticides applied to rice in the 1960s caused declines in Texas and Louisiana populations. Numbers have recovered and stabilized since then.

• The Fulvous Whistling-Duck is a frequent nest parasite, laying eggs in other Fulvous Whistling-Duck nests, as well as the nests of other duck species. These other duck species often lay their eggs in Fulvous Whistling-Duck nests as well.

• Unlike many other ducks which have elaborate courtship displays, whistling-ducks appear to have none.

• Other than in agricultural habitats, the Fulvous Whistling-Duck nests only rarely in the United States. It started breeding in the United States only in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, nesting in rice fields.

Description

• Size: 44-51 cm (17-20 in)
• Weight: 595-964 g (21.0-34.03 ounces)

• A medium-sized duck with long neck and legs.
• Head, neck, chest and belly buffy to tawny-cinnamon.

• Back, wings, and tail dark blackish-brown.
• Wings dark above and below.
• Whitish band above tail seen in flight.
• Bill and legs dark.
• Legs trail in flight.

Sex Differences

Male slightly larger than female, but similar in plumage.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult.

Sound

Noisy. High-pitched, two-syllable whistle, accent on second syllable, "kit-tee."

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Locally in southern California and in central Florida. From central Louisiana westward along coast of Texas, into Mexico. Extensive range outside the United States; found in the West Indies, Central and South America, Hawaii, East Africa, Madagascar, and southern Asia.

Winter Range

Same as breeding range, but many individuals leave southern United States, reducing their numbers in winter.

Habitat

• Freshwater wetlands, especially shallow impoundments managed for rice. Also flooded grasslands and pasture.

Food

Seeds of water plants, rice, aquatic invertebrates.

Behavior

Foraging

Dabbles at and just below waterline. Makes shallow dives and tips-up. A filter-feeder, not a grazer.

Courtship

No obvious courtship displays.

Reproduction

Nest Type

A simple bowl in dense floating or flooded emergent vegetation.

Egg Description

White to buffy white.

Clutch Size

Usually 6-44 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Downy young leave the nest soon after hatching.

Conservation Status

Because of the duck's close association with agriculture, it risks pesticide exposure

Other Names

Dendrocygne fauve, Millouin du Mexique (French)
Chiquiote, Algarabia, Pato silvon, Pato silbon, Pato amarillo, Pikike canelo (Spanish)
Fulvous Tree-Duck (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Hohman, W. L., and S. A. Lee. 2001. Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor). In The Birds of North America, No. 562 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.