The Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is a striking species of duck with a pleasing mix of black, white, and chestnut to its plumage, plus a bright pink-orange bill and feet.
Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks nest in tree cavities and will use nest boxes. They can often be found perching in trees. Black-bellieds are one of eight species of whistling ducks in the world. Birds in this family is sometimes called "tree ducks". These birds are generally gregarious and are named for their distinctive whistling calls.
Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are a New World species, found in large parts of South America, as well as in coastal parts of Central America and in the south and southeast of the United States.
The Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2012 by BirdLife International. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Today's new Birdorable bird joins our duck family! We are introducing the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck! Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks nest in tree cavities and will use nest boxes. They can often be found perching in trees. In fact, they used to be known... Read more »
