Whistling duck

Whistling duck

The whistling ducks or tree ducks are a subfamily, Dendrocygninae of the duck, goose and swan family of birds, Anatidae. In other taxonomical approaches, they are either considered a separate family "Dendrocygnidae", or a tribe "Dendrocygnini" in the goose subfamily Anserinae (e.g. Terres & NAS, 1991).

It contains only one genus, Dendrocygna, containing eight living species, and one known from hitherto undescribed subfossils from Aitutaki, Cook Islands (Steadman, 2006). These species have a worldwide distribution through the tropics and subtropics. These ducks have, as their name implies, distinctive whistling calls.

The whistling ducks have long legs and necks, and are very gregarious, flying to and from night-time roosts in large flocks. Both sexes have the same plumage, and all have a hunched appearance and black underwings in flight.

Contents

Species

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  • Whistling duck — Whistling Whis tling, a. & n. from {Whistle}, v. [1913 Webster] {Whistling buoy}. (Naut.) See under {Buoy}. {Whistling coot} (Zo[ o]l.), the American black scoter. {Whistling Dick}. (Zo[ o]l.) (a) An Australian shrike thrush ({Colluricincla… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • whistling duck — /ˈwɪslɪŋ dʌk/ (say wisling duk) noun any of various ducks of the subfamily Dendrocygninae, which make a whistling sound rather than quacking, as the two Australian birds, the wandering whistling duck, Dendrocygna arcuata, and the endemic, plumed… …  

  • whistling duck — baltanugarės antys statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Thalassornis angl. whistling duck; white backed duck vok. Weißrückenente, f; Weißrücken Pfeifgans, f rus. белоспинная савка, f pranc. erismature à dos blanc, f ryšiai:… …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • whistling duck — any of several long legged, chiefly tropical ducks of the genus Dendrocygna, most of which have whistling cries. [1690 1700] * * * ▪ bird also called  Tree Duck        (Dendrocygna), any of eight species of long legged and long necked ducks that… …   Universalium

  • whistling duck — noun 1. : goldeneye 2. : tree duck 3. : american scoter …   Useful english dictionary

  • Black-bellied Whistling Duck — Northern subspecies (D. a. autumnalis, note brown breast). The white wing patch, a tell tale feature of this species, is conspicuous in flight. Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • Wandering Whistling Duck — Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • West Indian Whistling Duck — Conservation status Vulnerable …   Wikipedia

  • Black-billed Whistling Duck — Taxobox name = Black billed Whistling Duck status = VU | status system = IUCN3.1 trend = down image width = 200px regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Anseriformes familia = Anatidae genus = Dendrocygna species = D. arborea… …   Wikipedia

  • Fulvous Whistling Duck — Conservation status Least Concern …   Wikipedia

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