Plumed Whistling-duck

Images ©:
©Bob Winters

Dendrocygna eytoni

Large duck, up to 60 cm. Tall, long neck. Face and foreneck are light. Crown and hindneck are pale brown. Brown feathers on the upper back are edged buff. Breast is pale chestnut, finely barred in black. Bill is mottled pink and grey. Legs and feet are pink.

Details
Type
Bird
Group
Animals
Duck
Other Common Names
Grass Whistling Duck, Red-legged Whistler, Red-legged Tree-duck
Biology

Breeding season: variable, usually during the tropical wet season. Clutch size is 8-14. During the day, they congregate in large numbers with other waterfowl, on the margins of lagoons, swamps and mangrove creeks, for preening and sleeping. At night they fly out, often quite long distances, to feed on grasslands. In the breeding season, they leave the water and nest on the grassy plains.
Distinctive Markings

Prominent long lanceolate off-white plumes edged in black along the flanks.
Taxonomy
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Anseriformes
Family
Anatidae
Genus
Dendrocygna
Species
eytoni

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

The Plumed Whistling-duck are monomorphic (sexes the same colour) but males tend to be slightly larger, with longer plumes.

Interesting Facts
Diet

Herbivore. Grazes on tropical grasses. They pluck grass and also take food from the water by dabbling from the surface.
Habitat

Found in wetlands and nearby grasslands and less commonly coastal wetlands.
Native Status
Native to Australia
Audio
Sounds
Loud hissing sound.