White-faced whistling duck
White-faced whistling duck | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Anseriformes |
Family: | Anatidae |
Subfamily: | Dendrocygninae |
Genus: | Dendrocygna |
Species: | D. viduata |
Binomial name | |
Dendrocygna viduata (Linnaeus, 1766) | |
White-faced whistling duck native range |
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.
Description
White-faced whistling duck call
The three-note whistling call of the white-faced whistling duck | |
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This species has a long grey bill, long head, and longish legs. It has a white face and crown, and black rear head.In some, species black colour almost cover the head. Those type of species are commonly found in West Africa country like Nigeria especially where rainfall superceed dry seasons. The back and wings are dark brown to black, and the underparts are black, although the flanks have fine white barring. The neck is chestnut. All plumages are similar, except that juveniles have a much less contrasted head pattern.
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.
Ecology
This is an abundant species. It is largely resident, apart from local movements which can be 100 km or more.
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.
Gallery
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Dendrocygna viduata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- Wildfowl by Madge and Burn, ISBN 0-7470-2201-1
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dendrocygna viduata. |
- White-faced Whistling Duck videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
- Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.
- Johnsgard, Paul A. 1965. Handbook of waterfowl behaviour: Tribe Dendrocygnini (Whistling Ducks)
- Johnsgard, Paul A. (2010) Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World: Tribe Dendrocygnini (Whistling or Tree Ducks)
- Treca, B., 1981: Diet of the white-faced Tree Duck (Dendrocygna viduata) in the Senegal delta. Oiseau et la Revue Francaise d’ Ornithologie 51(3): 219-238
- S. A. Petrie, K. H. Rogers (1997) Activity budget of breeding White-faced Ducks Dendrocygna viduata on stock-ponds in semi-arid South Africa, and a comparison with north-temperate waterfowl South African Journal of Wildlife Research, Vol. 27:79-85.
- Menegueti, J. O., Burger, M. I., Frozi, M., Tavares, A. E., Dotto, J. C., Fontana, C. S., Ramos, R. A. & Setubal, S. S. (1988) Nota prévia sobre os comportamentos reprodutivos de Dendrocygna viduata e Dendrocygna autumnalis no norte e noroeste do Estado de São Paulo. Resumos: XV Congresso Brasileiro de Zoologia. 31/1 a 5/2/1998. p. 468. Curitiba: Universidade Federal do Paraná.
- Petrie, SA (2005) Spring body condition, moult status, diet and behaviour of white-faced whistling ducks (Dendrocygna viduata) in northern South Africa. African Zoology 40(1): 83–92 http://www.bsc-eoc.org/download/LPWWRF%20WFWD%20Condition.pdf
- Michel Gauthier-Clerc, Alain Tamisier and Frank Cezilly (1994) Sleeping and Vigilance in the White-Faced Whistling-Duck. The Wilson Bulletin 106(4):759-762 http://www.jstor.org/stable/4163495
- Cooke, R.G.; Olsen, S.L. An archaeological record for the white-faced whistling-duck (Dendrocygna viduata) in Central Panama. Condor 1984, 86, 493-494. http://si-pddr.si.edu/jspui/bitstream/10088/6469/1/VZ_155_Dendrocygna_Panama.pdf
- Volodin I. A., Volodina E. V., Klenova A. V., Filatova O. A. 2005. Individual and sexual differences in the calls of the monomorphic White-faced Whistling Duck Dendrocygna viduata. Acta Ornithol. 40: 43–52. http://www.bioacoustica.org/publ/papers/138_Volodin_et_al_2005_Actaornitol.pdf
- http://moscowzoo.ru/docs/C105_402_Klenova_et_al_2002_Berlin.pdf
- http://www.moscowzoo.ru/docs/C105_131_Volodin_et_al_2003_IZN.pdf
- http://www.the-eis.com/data/literature/Oatley_1986_SA_J_Wildl_Res_16_waterfowl.pdf
- http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_6/colloques2/010008478.pdf
- http://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/zoology/members/yom-tov/articles/Factors.pdf
- http://www.bsc-eoc.org/download/lpwwrf%20wfwd%20nutrients.pdf
- http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/1364339
- http://repository.up.ac.za/xmlui/bitstream/handle/2263/20711/2alexander1997.pdf
- http://digital.bl.fcen.uba.ar/Download/008_ElHornero/008_ElHornero_v010_n03_articulo209.pdf