Lesser Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna javanica) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernPlants

WetlandCavity nestLarge · 520 g

Lesser Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna javanica), photo 7 — Photo: white_cheeked_barbet · CC BY 4.0

Lesser Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna javanica), photo 8 — Photo: white_cheeked_barbet · CC BY 4.0

Lesser Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna javanica), photo 9 — Photo: (c) Afsar Nayakkan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Lesser Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna javanica), photo 10 — Photo: (c) Nils, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

What the Lesser Whistling Duck sounds like

Sonogram of the Lesser Whistling Duck: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Ujjal Kishor De · Song, subsong · Ambedkar College, fatikroy, Unakoti, Tripura, India · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

This chestnut brown duck is confusable only with the fulvous whistling duck (D. bicolor) but has chestnut upper-tail coverts unlike the creamy white in the latter. The ring around the eye is orange to yellow. When flying straight, their head is held below the level of the body as in other Dendrocygna species. The crown appears dark and the sexes are alike in plumage. They fly slowly but with rapid wing-flapping and usually produce a repetitive wheezy seasick call as they circle overhead. They are very nocturnal and often rest during the day.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Lesser Whistling Duck

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Lesser Whistling Duck

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 20 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

India Thailand Sri Lanka Bangladesh Singapore Cambodia Nepal Malaysia Myanmar (Burma) Laos Vietnam Indonesia Bhutan China United Arab Emirates Pakistan Oman Hong Kong SAR China Serbia Brunei

Recorded as a rare visitor in Taiwan.

About the Lesser Whistling Duck

The lesser whistling duck, also known as Indian whistling duck or lesser whistling teal, is a species of whistling duck that breeds in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. They are nocturnal feeders that during the day may be found in flocks around lakes and wet paddy fields. They can perch on trees and sometimes build their nest in the hollow of a tree. This brown and long-necked duck has broad wings that are visible in flight and produces a loud two-note wheezy call. It has a chestnut rump, differentiating it from its larger relative, the fulvous whistling duck, which has a creamy white rump.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

White-faced Whistling DuckDendrocygna viduataThe white-faced whistling duck has a long grey bill, a long head, and longish legs.

Fulvous Whistling DuckDendrocygna bicolorThe fulvous whistling duck is 45–53 cm (18–21 in) long; the male weighs 748–1,050 g (26.4–37.0 oz), and the female averages marginally lighter at 712–1,000 g (25.1–35.3 oz).

Plumed Whistling DuckDendrocygna eytoniMeasuring 42–60 cm (16.5–23.5 in) and weighing around one kilogram (2.2 lb), it is a long-necked duck with brown upperparts, paler underparts and a white rump.

Side by side: Black-bellied Whistling Duck vs Lesser Whistling Duck · Lesser Whistling Duck vs White-faced Whistling Duck · Fulvous Whistling Duck vs Lesser Whistling Duck · Lesser Whistling Duck vs Plumed Whistling Duck

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