Indian whistling duck

Facts

IUCN LEAST CONCERN (LC)

Facts about this animal

A typical tree duck with squarish head, long legs, rounded and broad wings, and an erect goose-like posture when alert. There is no obvious sexual dimorphism and no special breeding plumage. The body-weight ranges from 450 to 600 g.

Nest sites are variable. 6 to 10 white eggs are laid, which are incubated by both, female and male, for 27 to 28 days.

Indian whistling ducks feed on water plants by dabbling on the water surface in shallow water, or by diving. They feed mostly at night, in small family groups.

Did you know?
that, in Singapore, the Indian whistling duck is the only breeding species of the Anatidae family? They were never common in Singapore, and with not more than 200 left, are now rated locally endangered. Main threats are habitat loss, disturbance and poaching.

Factsheet
Class	AVES
Order	ANSERIFORMES
Suborder	ANSERES
Family	ANATIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Dendrocygna javanica
Name (English)	Indian whistling duck
Name (French)	Dendrocygne siffleur
Name (German)	Javabaumente
Name (Spanish)	Suirirí de Java
Local names	Bahasa: Langkang, Terkadang
CITES Status	Not listed
CMS Status	Appendix II (as Anatidae spp.)

Photo Copyright by
J. M Garg

Distribution

Distribution
Range	South and East Asia: Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Viet Nam with vagrants to Israel and the Maldives.
Habitat	Freshwater wetlands.
Wild population	Global population estimates are pretty vague and range from 200,000 to 2,000,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2002).
Zoo population	93 reported to ISIS (2006).

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Note 18 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

Find this animal on ZooLex

Why do zoos keep this animal

The Indian whistling duck is not a threatened species. Zoos keep them for educational purposes e.g. in themed South or South-East Asian exhibits, and as an ambassador species for wetland conservation.

How this animal should be kept

For up to 4 birds an enclosure with a land surface of 50 m² and a water surface of 10 m². or an aviary of 4x6 m including a pool of 6 m² is recommended. If kept in temperate or cold climatic zones, a frost free shelter with an indoor pool is required during winter If kept in multispecies waterfowl exhibits, the species should be selected in a way to avoid hybridisation. Note that WAZA has adopted the policy of outphasing pinioning, and that several countries prohibit the use of surgical methods for flight restraint.