Bird watching in Africa - White-faced Whistling Duck, Dendrocygna viduata

Length: 38 - 48 cm
Wingspan: 86 - 94 cm.
Weight: 685 - 820 g
Longevity:
Distinctive Feature •
Similar Species • From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.
Female / Male • Juveniles have a more muted head pattern. From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.

The White-faced Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna viduata) is a whistling duck that breeds in sub-Saharan Africa and much of South America.

This species is gregarious, and at favoured sites, the flocks of a thousand or more birds arriving at dawn are an impressive sight. As the name implies, these are noisy birds with a clear three-note whistling call.

Range and habitat
The white-faced whistling duck has a peculiar disjunctive distribution, occurring in Africa and South America. It has been suggested that they may have been transported to new locations worldwide by humans. The habitat is still freshwater lakes or reservoirs, with plentiful vegetation, where this duck feeds on seeds and other plant food.

The white-faced whistling duck has escaped or been deliberately released in to Florida, USA, but there is no evidence that the population is breeding and may only persist due to continuing releases or escapes.

Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net

www.oiseaux.net is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there

Description
The white-faced whistling duck a long grey bill, a long head, and longish legs. It has a black neck and head, and distinctive white face that gives them their name, though the amount of white color visible has regional variations among the species.

For example, the white-faced whistling ducks with more black coloration are commonly found in western Africa where rainfall superceeds the dry season. The back and wings are dark brown to black, and the underparts are black with a fine white barring on the flanks.

The neck is chestnut. Males and females have similar plumage. Juveniles are similar in color to adults, but have a much less contrasted head pattern.

Length: 38 - 48 cm

Wingspan: 86 - 94 cm.

Weight: 685 - 820 g

Longevity:

Distinctive Feature

•

Similar Species

•

From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.

Female / Male

• Juveniles have a more muted head pattern.

From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.

Listen to the White-faced Whistling Duck

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Ecology
This is an abundant species. It is largely resident, apart from local movements which can be 100 km or more.

Dendrocygna viduata - MHNT

By Roger Culos - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74701106

Breeding
It nests on a stick platform near the ground, and lays 8-12 eggs. Trees are occasionally used for nesting.

Conservation
The white-faced whistling duck is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

AEWA

The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, or African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) is an independent international treaty developed under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme's Convention on Migratory Species.

It was founded to coordinate efforts to conserve bird species migrating between European and African nations, and its current scope stretches from the Arctic to South Africa, encompassing the Canadian archipelago and the Middle East as well as Europe and Africa.

The agreement focuses on bird species that depend on wetlands for at least part of their lifecycle and cross international borders in their migration patterns. It currently covers 254 species.

Treaties

Ban on lead shot
The use of lead shot over wetlands has been banned by the signatories to the convention on account of the poisoning it causes.

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)

IUCN Red List of threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.birdforum.net

Sighted: 20 October 2019 (Date of first photo that I could use)
Location: Chelekleka Lake, Bebre Zeit, Ethiopia

White-faced Whistling Duck / Dendrocygna viduata - 20 October 2019 - Chelekleka Lake, Bebre Zeit, Ethiopia

White-faced Whistling Duck / Dendrocygna viduata
20 October 2019 - Chelekleka Lake, Bebre Zeit, Ethiopia

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