Spotted Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna guttata Scientific name definitions

43–50 cm; male 590–650 g, female 610–860 g (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 ). Small white mark at base of lower mandible . Reminiscent of D. arborea though smaller and with blackish mask and grey face ; round white marks on belly. Juvenile duller, having white flank feathers broadly edged with black; irregular white streaks on sides.

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

Mindanao (S Philippines) and Sulawesi E through Moluccas and Tanimbar Is (E Lesser Sundas) to New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago and, recently, NE Australia (Cape York Peninsula) (2 Gould, S. and Barnett, M. (2005). First breeding record of the Spotted Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna guttata in Australia. Austral. Field Orn. 22: 196–200. Close ).

Margins of freshwater swamps, lakes, pools , marshes, mangroves (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 ), creeks and rivers, surrounded by grasslands and scattered trees; only in lowlands.

Probably mainly sedentary, although unclear whether the species is resident on the Kai Is (3 Johnstone, R. E., and S. (B.) van Balen (2013). The birds of the Kai and Tayandu Islands, Maluku region, Indonesia. Western Australian Naturalist 29(1):11–56. Close ), and there is just one record on New Ireland (4 Dutson, G. (2011). Birds of Melanesia: The Bismarcks, Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); several records from Bougainville in Solomon Is generally thought to refer to vagrants (4 Dutson, G. (2011). Birds of Melanesia: The Bismarcks, Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Five records in N Australia (all from Queensland  and Northern Territories, the most recent in Dec 2011) (5 Palliser, T., and M. Carter (2013). Rare birds: the 2012 BARC report. Australian Birdlife 2(4):50–53. Close ).

Diet includes grass seeds and small snails. Food obtained by dabbling at water’s edge, filtering surface and diving. Mainly nocturnal. Frequently forms mixed flocks with D. arcuata (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 ).

Most common vocalizations include a nasal, single-syllable “gack”, a simple whistled  “whee’-ow” or coarser and more complex “whe-a-whew’-whew”, “whu-wheouw-whi” or “wu-wheouwhi”, while a wheezy, nasal “zzeou”, a piping “ti-ti-ti”, various single notes of a nasal quality and drawn-out shrill, reedy notes have also been described (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 wet season (Sept), but active nests also found in Dec, Mar and Apr in New Guinea (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 downy young observed in Indonesia, on Buru in Oct and on Ambon in Nov (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 in NE Australia in Mar–Jul (6 Gould, S. and Barnett, M. (2005). First breeding record of the Spotted Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna guttata in Australia. Australian Field Orn.. 22: 196-200. Close ). Nests in hollow trees, generally standing in or near water. Normally c. 10–11 eggs (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 in captivity 52 mm × 38 mm, mass 41·6 g (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 c. 28–31 days; chick  weighs 17·5 g on hatching, ash-grey down over head, with blackish-brown cap and upperparts, with two prominent stripes on face and two white bands on back, and ash-grey underparts (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 in captivity c. 7 weeks. Has lived 14 years in 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 ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Not usually found in large concentrations. Appears well represented within range, especially in parts of Indonesia , probably including Irian Jaya (W New Guinea), where is one of most common and widespread ducks. Recent partial censuses produced 116 in New Guinea and 41 in Philippines, with an overall population estimate of 10,000–25,000 birds (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 ). Recently discovered (1995) in Australia on both sides of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland  , where breeding was proven in May 2000 and Apr 2004 (6 Gould, S. and Barnett, M. (2005). First breeding record of the Spotted Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna guttata in Australia. Australian Field Orn.. 22: 196-200. Close ).