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
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.