Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)
The duck was described for the first time by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789 and given the name Anas fulva, but the name was either taken or previously used. This resulted in the next accessible name, Anas bicolor, suggested by French naturalist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1816 from a Paraguayan species. In acknowledgement of their peculiarities compared to other ducks, British ornithologist William John Swainson classified whistling ducks as Dendrocygna.
The fulvous whistling-duck prefers wetlands with abundant flora, such as small lakes and paddy fields. The unlined nest is created from plant material and placed among thick foliage or in a tree hole. A normal clutch has 10 white eggs. The breeding adults, who couple for life, incubate the eggs in turns, and the eggs hatch in 24–29 days. The downy grey ducklings leave the nest within a day or two of birth, but their parents continue to guard them until they fledge, which happens roughly nine weeks later.
Scientific classification
The fulvous whistling-duck inhabits marshes, wet meadows, rice paddies, flooded agricultural regions, and lagoons, feeds mostly at night. It forages for discarded grain in cornfields and rice fields and gathers seeds from grasses and weeds. In shallow water, it will occasionally suck up plant items.
How to identify
Adults of both sexes have a rufous-brown head and upper nape that becomes blackish down the middle of the hindneck. The sides of the head, neck, chest, and belly have a rich rufous-buff color, with the sides of the neck lighter, nearly white, and striated with fine black striations. The rump is white and the back is dark brown with chestnut feather fringes. Side and flank feathers with ivory edges make a dramatic border between the sides and back. The brownish-black tail is separated from the dark-colored back by a conspicuous white “V.” The beak, legs, and feet are all blue-gray, with a dark brown iris.
Population threats
In many rice-growing areas, this species is being hunted to extinction. The species is also frequently subjected to pesticides used on rice farms, is susceptible to lead poisoning, and is killed by collisions with powerlines.
Originally published at https://www.wildlanka.com on August 14, 2022.
