Dendrocygna bicolor (Vieillot, 1816) - Fulvous Whistling Duck

Subspecies in India

Alternative Common Names: Large Whistling Teal, Large Whistling Duck, Fulvous Tree Duck, Fulvous Duck, Fulvous Whistle-Duck.

Old Taxonomy: Anas bicolor Viellot, 1816.
 

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

Dendrocygna bicolor - Fulvous Whistling Duck


 

 

Breeding season: June to October
Nest: Nests constructed of sticks roughly put together in hollows in old tree-trunk or in forks of large branches, at moderate height also in dense floating or flooded emergent vegetation of Typha species reeds.

Eggs: 6-8, Bluntly ovate to oval. Color white to buffy white. Shell flat to glossy with minute pitting. Average size of 50 eggs 56.6 x 42.9 mm.

 


Size- Medium-sized duck. 45–53 cm; Wingspan 207-211mm

Distinguishing characters:

Adult: Ferruginous, blackish brown back, wings, and tail that contrasts with ivory, buff-streaked flanks, light-buff to whitish upper and lower tail-coverts, and tawny-cinnamon underparts. Diffused rusty-whitish collar round middle of the foreneck. Iris light to dark brown. Beak is dusky black with bluish slate of varying extent at base. Legs and feet pale are dusky plumbeous or bluish slate to nearly black, Claws are black.


Young/Immatures: Look duller than adults, the chestnut-cinnamon parts are paler or brownish.

Similar Species in India: This spcies is similar to Lesser Whistling Duck except the rusty-whitish collar and buff-streaked flank of Fulvous Whistling Duck.
 


This species is common in the eastern part of India. It inhabits various types of marshy habitats and swamps in open, flat terrain, including both freshwater and brackish wetlands, generally associated with tall-grass. Seen in small flocks.

Foraging Behaviour: Feeds on aquatic plant seeds, aquatic invertebrates.

Call/Song: Frequently gives descending whistled calls with a faltered beginning. Males sound wheezier, females more nasal and squeakier.

Migration Status:
Resident.


IUCN Status: Least Concern 

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Paschimbanga1
Pondicherry
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
Total1

1. Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Washington, DC.

2. Ali, S., and S. D. Ripley. 1978. Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan: Together with those of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Ceylon (Vol. 1). Oxford University Press.

3. Stuart Baker, E. C. 1933. The Nidification of Birds of the Indian Empire. Taylor And Francis, London.

4. BirdLife International. 2016. Dendrocygna bicolorThe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22679746A92827620. 

Page citation

Anonymous 2024. Dendrocygna bicolor (Vieillot, 1816) – Fulvous Whistling Duck. In Satose, V., A. Bayani, V. Ramachandran, P. Roy, and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 2.17. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.birdsofindia.org/dendrocygna-bicolor, accessed 2024/11/10.