Dendrocygna autumnalis

IUCN

Alias：Dendrocygna autumnalis，Black-bellied Whistling-duck，Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Basic Information

Scientific classification

name：Dendrocygna autumnalis
Aliases：Dendrocygna autumnalis，Black-bellied Whistling-duck，Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Outline：Waterfowl
Family：

Vital signs

length：48-53CM
Weight：No textual research information is available
lifetime：No textual research information is available

Feature

It has a long red beak and long legs, a long light gray head, and the body feathers are also mostly grayish-brown, and the belly and tail are black

Details

The Black-bellied Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) has two subspecies: Black-bellied Whistling Duck and black-bellied whistling duck.

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Black-bellied ducks do not migrate. They range from Arizona, Louisiana and parts of Texas. In parts of the far north birds travel south in winter. Flying long distances in winter clusters, this behavior is not really a long-distance migration, but a local evacuation.

Black-bellies can feed both on the surface and underwater, and sometimes on the ground near the water to forage for grass. The food is mainly plant food such as rice, crop seedlings, grasses and aquatic plants, but also animal food such as insects, snails, mollusks, frogs and small fish. Tree ducks usually fly in groups of a few to a few dozen at dusk to feed in nearby rice paddies and return to their daytime waters before dawn.

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When the black-bellies tree duck rests, the body is upright, and a few often look around from time to time, and take off first when people or enemies are near, followed by other trees and ducks, and the sex is extremely alert. Often in groups of a few to dozens of activities and foraging, there are many to hundreds of large groups. It is weak in flight and not as fast as other ducks. Also good at swimming and diving, and diving ability is very strong, a dive up to ten minutes. During the hot day, they often sleep and rest in the reeds or other tall water weeds. When food is abundant and undisturbed, they often inhabit fixed places and generally do not change their habitat or even migrate long distances.

Black-bellies are very unique ducks that have strong monogamous pairing cooperation. The pair often live together for many years and behave like geese. Breeding season May to July. Usually nests in tree holes. They also make use of chimneys, abandoned buildings or nesting boxes, which have been increasingly provided in recent decades, especially in southeast Texas and Mexico.

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Courtship and mating take place in the water. Before mating, the male and female ducks swim together. The male ducks continuously dip his beak towards the female, and the female ducks maintain an upright position. The nest is composed of grass leaves and stems, and is 25 cm in diameter and 6 cm in height. Each brood lays 8-14 eggs, generally about 10, and the eggs are white. The eggs are incubated by both sexes for 27-30 days. The ducklings are born early and can jump into the water to feed themselves as soon as they hatch, and remain with their parents for eight weeks of growth.

Listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 2012 Red List of Threatened Species ver 3.1 - Not Threatened (LC).

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Location

Origin: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador (Galapagos), El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Travelers: Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Chile, Gambia, Grenada, Jamaica, Virgin Islands
It lives in plant-rich ponds, lakes, reservoirs and other waters, but also appears in forest marshes and surrounding ponds and streams covered with plants. They prefer to hide in tall grass or under lotus leaves, and also live in groups on water, but usually avoid open lakes.

Form

The black-bellied duck is 48-53 cm long. It has a long red beak and long legs; Long head light gray; The body feathers are mostly grayish brown; The belly and tail are black; The neck and upper body were rich maroon; Gray cheeks and upper neck; The irises are brown with distinct white eye rings. The wings can be seen in flight with a large white color on the wings, which is formed by the secondary flight feathers, while the primary flight feathers are black and the wing coverings are brown. Both sexes are similar; Young and adult ducks are also similar, but have a gray beak and a reduced color contrast on the belly.