White-faced Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna viduata Scientific name definitions

The White-faced Whistling-duck is a boldly patterned resident of freshwater marshes from Costa Rica to northern Argentina and Uruguay.  With a black head and crown and white cheek and forehead, the White-faced Whistling-Duck easily is distinguishable from other species in the genus Dendrocygna. These birds are mainly night foragers and feed on a variety of food items including grass, seeds, and aquatic mollusks.  During the breeding season, White-faced Whistling-Ducks form loose colonies and create nests in long grass or in reedbeds made out of the surrounding vegetation.

38–48 cm; 502–820 g. Dorsal and scapular feathers longer than in other Dendrocygna. Front part of head, chin and throat white  , contrasting with black neck, line bisecting white of chin and rest of head, with lower neck and upper breast  rich chestnut, rest of underparts to tail black, except breast-sides and flanks ochre-white barred black; back  olive-brown with buff-brown fringes to feathers, scapulars grey-brown, lesser wing-coverts dark chestnut and rest of wing bluish grey to black; bill black with bluish-grey subterminal band on maxilla, legs and feet bluish grey, and eyes brown. Juveniles have greyish buffy-white or ash-grey face, throat and underparts; breast less extensively and vividly chestnut; achieve adult plumage at c. 3 months (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

• Spotted x White-faced Whistling-Duck (hybrid) Dendrocygna guttata x viduata
• White-faced x Fulvous Whistling-Duck (hybrid) Dendrocygna viduata x bicolor

Tropical America from Costa Rica (where probably extinct) S to N Argentina and Uruguay; sub-Saharan Africa from S Mauritania and Senegal E to Eritrea and S to South Africa; Madagascar and Comoro Is.

Wide variety of wetlands , including some artificial ones, and showing preference for fresh water in open country , but also found at swamps, flooded areas, reservoirs (2 Claffey, P. (1999). Dams as new habitat in West African savannah. Bull. Afr. Bird Club. 6(2): 116–120. Close ), estuaries and perhaps most especially at rice fields (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Sometimes occurs on tiny waterbodies. Recorded to at least 3000 m in Africa (Uganda) (3 Carswell, M., D. Pomeroy, J. Reynolds, and H. Tushabe (2005). The Bird Atlas of Uganda. British Ornithologists’ Club and British Ornithologists' Union, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Often subject to local movements caused by variations in availability of water, concentrating during dry season at certain favoured wetlands not subject to complete drying out, e.g. Kafue Flats in Zambia, where up to 24,000 recorded in Sept 1971 (4 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ). Movements generally of just a few hundred kilometres at most, e.g. a recovery of a bird ringed in Zimbabwe in Malawi (5 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ), movements between Zambia and Zimbabwe also detected by such means (4 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ) and one bird moved c. 970 km between Senegal and Mali (6 Tréca, B. (1993). Quelques données sur les reprises de bagues au Mali. Malimbus. 1(1): 37–43. Close ), although longest-range movement recorded within Africa is 1126 km and there is some (circumstantial) evidence for interchange between mainland and Madagascar (7 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Occasionally wanders to temperate zone in E Andes, in Colombia and Ecuador (8 Fjeldså, J., and N. Krabbe (1990). Birds of the High Andes: A Manual to the Birds of the Temperate Zone of the Andes and Patagonia, South America. Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen and Apollo Books, Copenhagen and Svendborg, Denmark. Close ). Has occurred N to mainland Spain (1914), Mallorca (Dec 1973) and Tenerife, in Canary Is (late 1960s) (9 de Juana, E. and el Comité de Rarezas de la Sociedad Española de Ornitología (2002). Observaciones de aves raras en España. Ardeola. 49(1): 141–171. Close ), on several islands in the Caribbean Sea (Aruba, Curaçao (10 Prins, T.G., Reuter, J.H., Debrot, A.O., Wattel, J. and Nijman, V. (2009). Checklist of the birds of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire, south Caribbean. Ardea. 97(2): 137–268. Close ), Cuba, Hispaniola and Barbados) (11 Raffaele, H. A., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele (1998). A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ), and in S Florida (eight records since 1998, almost all in Mar–May) (12 Howell, S. N. G., I. Lewington, and W. Russell (2014). Rare Birds of North America. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ). In South America is only an erratic visitor to Peru, where recorded solely in 19th century, around Lima and on Ucayali R (13 Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, D. F. Lane, J. P. O’Neill, and T. A. Parker (2007). Birds of Peru. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ), and in 2009–2010 in Madre de Dios Department (14 Comité de Registros de Aves Peruanas. (2012). Reporte del Comité de Registros de Aves Peruanas del periodo 2010–2011. Boletín de la Unión de Ornitólogos del Perú 7:51–62. Close ); in the SW Indian Ocean, vagrants have also reached Seychelles (five records, all from Aldabra and Assumption) and the Comoros (1860s, 1958, 1999, 2004) (7 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

More varied than in other whistling-ducks, consisting of vegetable matter (grass, seeds, rice) and also aquatic invertebrates (molluscs, crustaceans, insects); 92% dry weight of crop contents was Ambrosia maritima, Nymphoides indica and Nymphaea seeds and Echinochloa stagnina fruits, in one study in Transvaal, South Africa; stomachs of 14 birds short in Malawi all contained seeds, belonging to five species, especially Paspalidium grasses (5 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ). Study in N Argentina found evidence of 17 species in this duck’s diet, 15 of them vegetable, the others animal: seeds of Sporobolus sp. (Gramineae) Scirpus californicus (Cyperaceae), Kochia scoparia (Chenopodiaceae) and Juncus densiflorus (Juncaceae) were the most important (15 Rozzatti, J.C., Marteleur, G. and Beltzer, A.H. (1995). Alimentación de Dendrocygna viduata en la Provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina (Anseriformes: Anatidae). Ararajuba. 3: 77-79. Close ). In Venezuela, reported to take less rice than other whistling-ducks, instead concentrating on seeds of Oryza perennis and Cyperus rotundus, both of which are common weeds within rice fields (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Other aquatic plants recorded in diet include Polygonum, Papsalum and Caperonia (7 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Some seasonal variation, in response to plant phenology: tubers in dry season and seeds in wet season, at which time insect consumption is highest, reflecting peak abundance and diversity of available animal prey, and birds’ protein requirements prior to and during breeding (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Mainly a night forager, with feeding especially intense at dawn and dusk (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); obtains food mostly by diving; also on surface, by wading and dabbling . Frequently associates with D. bicolor, especially in Africa (3 Carswell, M., D. Pomeroy, J. Reynolds, and H. Tushabe (2005). The Bird Atlas of Uganda. British Ornithologists’ Club and British Ornithologists' Union, Oxford, UK. Close ), and D. autumnalis in South America.

Most typical is a sibilant trisyllabic whistle “swee-swee-sweeoo”, lasting 1·5–2 seconds (7 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), given in contact both in flight and while feeding, and repeated after brief pauses, often in chorus (7 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); also a single “wheee” note in alarm (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), e.g. when disturbed at nest still with young (7 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Differences between sexes postulated (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Starts at beginning of rainy season and laying reaches peak when floods at maximum; Jul–Sept in Venezuela; Jul–Oct in Ethiopia (16 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); late May until perhaps Oct in Ghana (17 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2014). The Birds of Ghana: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press, Liège, Belgium. Close ); Jan and Jun–Oct in Uganda (3 Carswell, M., D. Pomeroy, J. Reynolds, and H. Tushabe (2005). The Bird Atlas of Uganda. British Ornithologists’ Club and British Ornithologists' Union, Oxford, UK. Close ); Jan–May in Malawi (5 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ); Dec–Jun (especially Jan–Mar) in Zambia (4 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ); Sept–May (peak Dec–Feb) in South Africa (18 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ); Oct–Apr (mainly Jan–Mar) in Madagascar (7 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Monogamous and pair-bonds believed to be lifelong (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). In loose colonies or small groups; nests  (16–18 cm wide and 5 cm deep) (18 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ) made using surrounding vegetation (leaves and stems of plants) (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) with no down or only traces; on ground, well concealed  in long grass or among Phragmites reedbeds, sometimes over water, on other occasions up to 1 km from it (18 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ); has even nested on coralline islets alongside White-tailed Tropicbirds (Phaethon lepturus) in Madagascar (7 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Clutch 4–13 (rarely 16) (18 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ) creamy-white or pink-tinged eggs  (mean 7·4 in Zambia, but compound or ‘dump’ nests, wherein more than one female lays eggs, recorded elsewhere in Africa) (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), laid at rate of one every 24 hours (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), size 45·5–52·7 mm × 35–41·5 mm, mass 27·5–43 g (captivity) (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); incubation 26–30 days (18 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ) by both sexes, perhaps mainly by male (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) with change-overs mainly mornings and evenings (18 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ); chicks have dark brown down above  , yellow below with dark cap  , pale superciliary and pale line from below eye to back of head (7 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), weigh 16·5–27 g at one day old (captivity) and leave nest  two days after hatching (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); fledging c. 60–83 days (7 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), but usually remain in family groups well into non-breeding season (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). One suspected incidence of a female D. bicolor laying eggs within nest of present species (7 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Eggs and ducklings predated by reptiles, birds and mammals (including man), while juvenile survival varies across years, but is apparently highest in summers with good rainfall (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Capable of breeding when one year old, but no data on breeding success, adult survival or longevity (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Fairly abundant, particularly in Africa, where may have benefited from protection of extensive areas, but large numbers are hunted (including during breeding period), at least locally, e.g. some 53,439 shot in single season (1998/99) at L Chilwa, Malawi, where reportedly more than this were also killed in snares (5 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ). Most abundant of Afrotropical ducks in W Africa, where 200,000 birds recorded in Jan 1987 census, and numbers in late 1990s placed at c. 250,000 in this region, with 1–2 million in E & S Africa (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). More recent counts in W Africa include 70,950 birds at the Inner Niger Delta (Jan 2001) (19 Girard, O., J. Thal, and B. Niagaté (2006). Waterbird counts in the inner Niger delta (Mali) in January 1999, 2000, and 2001. Malimbus 28(1):7–17. Close ) and 58,613 in the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands, NE Nigeria (1997) (20 Polet, G. (2000). Waterfowl and flood extent in the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands of north-east Nigeria. Bird Conservation International. 10(3): 203–209. Close ). In Madagascar is commonest duck along with Anas erythrorhyncha, being widely recorded, e.g. at 29 of 42 surveyed wetlands within Menabe and Melaky regions in Sept–Nov 2004 (7 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); overall numbers in country are estimated at 20,000–50,000 individuals (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) and hunting is only permitted in non-breeding season (21 Randrianandrianina, F.H., Racey, P.A. and Jenkins, R.K.B. (2010). Hunting and consumption of mammals and birds by people in urban areas of western Madagascar. Oryx. 44(3): 411–415. Close ). Introduction to Mauritius in c. 1850 eventually failed in 1950s, but reintroduction commenced in 1990s (unclear as to whether species has become re-established there) (7 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Concentrations of over 1000 are rare in Argentina; up to tens of thousands at Salto Grande Reservoir, Uruguay; 15,000 in Hato Masaguaral, Venezuela ; common to very common in Brazil , Bolivia and parts of Colombia. Extirpated in Trinidad & Tobago in early 20th century, but has since recolonized the islands (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Population in Americas estimated at in excess of 1,000,000 in late 1990s (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). CITES III in Ghana.