Black-bellied whistling duck Facts
Black-bellied whistling duck Facts
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| Interesting Black-bellied whistling duck Facts: |
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| Black-bellied whistling duck can reach 18.5 to 20.1 inches in length and 23 to 36 ounces of weight. |
| Black-bellied whistling duck is reddish brown colored. It has grey face and upper part of the neck, black belly and tail and large white patch on the wings. Males and females look alike. |
| Black-bellied whistling duck has orange-red bill, medium-sized, erect body and long neck and legs. |
| Black-bellied whistling duck is nocturnal animal (active during the night). |
| Black-bellied whistling duck is an omnivore (it eats both plants and meat). Its diet is based on seed, grass, sedges, corn, rice, wheat, insects, spiders and snails. |
| Black-bellied whistling ducks live in large flocks of around 1.000 birds. They produce whistle-like calls, hence the name "whistling ducks". |
| Unlike other ducks, black-bellied whistling duck spends a lot of time on the ground and on the trees. |
| Northern populations of black-bellied whistling ducks migrate toward the Mexico and southern parts of Texas in the autumn. |
| Natural enemies of black-bellied whistling ducks are great horned owls, raccoons, snakes, bass and catfish (all, except owls, feed on eggs and ducklings). |
| Males compete for the attention of females. They chase each other with wide open bills and stretched necks. |
| Black-bellied whistling ducks form monogamous pairs (they mate for a lifetime) during the winter. They produce one or two broods per season. |
| Black-bellied whistling ducks nest in the cavities of trees, in the nest boxes or on the ground, using little nesting material. Female lays 9 to 18 eggs (13 on average) from May to June. Eggs hatch after 25 to 30 days. Both parents participate in the incubation of eggs and rearing of chicks. |
| Females occasionally lay eggs in the nest of other black-bellied whistling ducks. This behavior is known as "egg-dumping". |
| Ducklings are covered with black and white down at birth. They are ready to leave the nest and enter the water (or walk on the solid ground) one or two days after hatching. Black-bellied whistling ducks learn to fly at the age of 8 weeks, but they stay with their parents until the age of 6 months. They reach sexual maturity at the age of one year. |
| Black-bellied whistling duck can survive 8 years in the wild. |
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