Species Fact Profile: Spotted Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna guttata)

                                                         Spotted Whistling Duck

                                           Dendrocygna guttata (Schlegel, 1866)

Range: Indonesia (Sulawesi, Moluccas), Philippines, New Guinea

Habitat: Freshwater Wetlands, Floodplains, Rivers, Streams

Diet: Grasses, Aquatic Plants, Seeds, and Aquatic Invertebrates.  Some small fish

Social Grouping:  Large flocks, breaking into smaller ones when foraging

Reproduction: Monogamous (possibly for life) with strong pair bonds, strengthened with allopreening, vocalizing together with repeated low whistles.  Nest in tree cavities, often near the water, though nesting on the ground has also been documented.  Up to 16 (but usually less than 10) round white eggs (52 x 38 millimeters, weighing 50 grams) incubated by both parents for 28-31 days.  At hatching, ducklings have sharp nails and stiff tails, which allow them to quickly exit the nest cavity.  Fully feathered at 7 weeks, with adult plumage by the end of their first year.  Fledge at 8 weeks. Sexually mature at 2 years

Lifespan: 10 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN Least Concern

• Body length 43-50 centimeters.  Wingspan 85-95 centimeters.  Average weight 800 grams
• Sexes look alike.  Predominately brown with a pale gray face and throat and a whitish belly, dark stripe on the top of the head.  Upperparts and darker than the underparts, with light red-brown edging to the feathers.  Juveniles tend to be darker than adults and have less-developed spotting.  Several small white spots on the neck, breast, and flanks.  Feet, legs, and beak are dark grey with a pinkish tint.  Eyes dark brown, relatively large
• There is a small dark crest which can be partially raised when the bird is excited
• Often make a whistling or whirring sound when in flight, the result of air passing through the deep notches in the primary flight feathers
• Primarily nocturnal, spend the day roosting in the treetops, often gathering in large numbers.  At dusk, they break off into smaller flocks to feed and forage
• If nestlings are threatened, parents may act aggressively to defend them.  If the threat is too large, they may feign injury to try and lure the predator away from the nest
• Among the most arboreal of whistling ducks, fitting for the genus name Dendrocygna (“Tree Swan”).  Guttata means “spotted”
• Primarily dabble from the surface, but have been observed diving for food
• IUCN Least Concern.  Population is poorly studied in the wild, but estimated at anywhere from 6,500-17,000 mature individuals (overall population 10,000-25,000 birds), population believed to be stable.  In some parts of its range it may be the most common waterfowl species.  In others, it may be in decline
• In recent years has expanded its range; first observed in Australia in 1995, and now regularly seen in northern Queensland on the Cape York Peninsula and later (2011) in the Northern Territory, interspersed with wandering and plumed whistling ducks