Lesser Whistling-Duck

Lesser Whistling-Duck

Dendrocygna javanica

Also known as: Indian Whistling Duck, Javan Whistling Duck

Predict Sightings

About This Species

Gathers in large, tightly packed flocks on ponds, flooded fields and marshes, often resting through the day and becoming active at dusk when its high, whistling calls carry across the water. The whistling in flight, especially at twilight, is one of the most distinctive ways to identify it even before the birds are visible. Numbers build noticeably during the dry season when birds concentrate on remaining wetlands.

Ethical Viewing Guidelines

  • Keep to the shoreline or a hide and avoid wading into the water, since flushing a resting flock repeatedly can force birds to abandon a otherwise good feeding site.
  • Wetland bird protections differ across the countries it occurs in, so treat any posted reserve rules as the minimum standard.
  • Approaching slowly and staying low reduces the chance of scattering the flock unnecessarily.
LCAvesAnseriformesAnatidae

Seasonal Activity

275,553 sightings · 2000–2026

Citizen science records via GBIF

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Classification

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Anseriformes
Family
Anatidae

Photo

(c) Saurabh Agrawal, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Saurabh Agrawal

CC-BY-NC-4.0

Occurrence data from GBIF.