Whistling duck

Whistling ducks
Black-bellied whistling duck
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Anatidae
Subfamily:Dendrocygninae
Reichenbach, 1850
Genus:Dendrocygna
Swainson, 1837
Type species
Anas arcuata
Horsfield, 1824
Species

The whistling ducks or tree ducks are a subfamily, Dendrocygninae, of the duck, goose and swan family of birds, Anatidae. They are not true ducks. In other taxonomic schemes, they are considered a separate family, Dendrocygnidae. Some taxonomists list only one genus, Dendrocygna, which contains eight living species, and one undescribed extinct species from Aitutaki of the Cook Islands, but other taxonomists also list the white-backed duck (Thalassornis leuconotus) under the subfamily.

Taxonomy and evolution

Whistling ducks were first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae in 1758: the black-bellied whistling duck (then Anas autumnalis) and the West Indian whistling duck (then Anas arborea).[1] In 1837, William John Swainson named the genus Dendrocygna to distinguish whistling ducks from the other waterfowl.[2] The type species was listed as the wandering whistling duck (D. arcuata), formerly named by Thomas Horsfield as Anas arcuata.[3]

Whistling duck taxonomy, including that of the entire infraorder Anseriformes, is complicated and disputed.[4] Under a traditional classification proposed by ornithologist Jean Théodore Delacour based on morphological and behavioral traits,[5][6] whistling ducks belong to the tribe Dendrocygnini under the family Anatidae and subfamily Anserinae.[6][7] Following the revisions by ornithologist Paul Johnsgard, Dendrocygnini includes the genus Thalassornis (the white-backed duck) under this system.[7][8]

In 1997, Bradley C. Livezey proposed that Dendrocygna were a separate lineage from Anserinae, placing it and its tribe in its own subfamily, Dendrocygninae. Alternatively Charles Sibley and Jon Edward Ahlquist recommended placing Dendrocygna in its own family, Dendrocygnidae, which includes the genus Thalassornis.[6][7]

Simplified Anseriformes phylogeny[9][10][11]

 Anseriformes 

 

 Anatidae 

 

 

Anatinae (dabbling ducks)

 
 

 

Anserinae (swans and true geese)

 
 

Oxyurinae (stiff-tailed ducks and allies)

 
 
 
 

Dendrocygninae (whistling ducks)

 
 
 

Anseranatidae (magpie-geese)

 
 
 

Anhimidae (screamers)

 
 
Detailed Anatidae phylogeny[12]

 Anatidae 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

other Anatidae

 
 

other Anatinae

 
 
 

all Anserinae

 
 

Oxyurinae, Nettapus, Malacorhynchus, Salvadorina

 
 

D. arcuata  

 
 

D. javanica  

 
 

Stictonetta  

 
 
 
 
 

 

D. bicolor  

 
 

D. eytoni  

 
 
 
 
 

 

D. arborea  

 
 

D. guttata  

 
 
 
 

Thalassornis  

 
 
 

 

D. autumnalis  

 
 

D. viduata  

 
 
 
Dendrocygninae
Stictonettinae
Dendrocygninae
Thalassorninae
Dendrocygninae

Species

Eight species of whistling duck are currently recognized in the genus Dendrocygna. However, Johnsgard considers the white-backed duck (Thalassornis leuconotus) from Africa and Madagascar to be distinct ninth species,[13] a view first proposed in 1960 and initially supported by behavioral similarities. Later, similarities in anatomy, duckling vocalizations, and feather proteins gave additional support.[8] Molecular analysis in 2009 also suggested that the white-backed duck was nested within the whistling duck clade.[12] In addition to the extant species, subfossil remains of an extinct, undescribed species have been found on Aitutaki of the Cook Islands.[14]

Scientific nameCommon nameAuthorityConservation statusImage
D. arborea West Indian whistling duck Linnaeus, 1758

Vulnerable
D. arcuata Wandering whistling duck Horsfield, 1824

Least concern
D. autumnalis Black-bellied whistling duck Linnaeus, 1758

Least concern
D. bicolor Fulvous whistling duck Vieillot, 1816

Least concern
D. eytoni Plumed whistling duck Eyton, 1838

Least concern
D. guttata Spotted whistling duck Schlegel, 1866

Least concern
D. javanica Lesser whistling duck Horsfield, 1821

Least concern
D. viduata White-faced whistling duck Linnaeus, 1766

Least concern

Description

Whistling ducks are found in the tropics and subtropics. As their name implies, they have distinctive whistling calls.

The whistling ducks have long legs and necks, and are very gregarious, flying to and from night-time roosts in large flocks. Both sexes have the same plumage, and all have a hunched appearance and black underwings in flight.

References

Literature cited

  • Donne-Goussé, C.; Laudet, V.; Hänni, C. (2002). "A molecular phylogeny of anseriformes based on mitochondrial DNA analysis". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 23 (3): 339–356. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00019-2. PMID 12099792.
  • Eo, S.H.; Bininda-Emonds, O.R.P.; Carroll, J.P. (2009). "A phylogenetic supertree of the fowls (Galloanserae, Aves)" (PDF). Zoologica Scripta. 38 (5): 465–481. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2008.00382.x.
  • Eyton, T.C. (1838). A Monograph on the Anatidae Or Duck Tribe. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman. p. 183. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51971.
  • Gonzalez, J.; Düttmann, H.; Wink, M. (2009). "Phylogenetic relationships based on two mitochondrial genes and hybridization patterns in Anatidae". Journal of Zoology. 279 (3): 310–318. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2009.00622.x.
  • Johnsgard, P.A. (1965). "Tribe Dendrocygnini (Whistling Ducks)". Handbook of Waterfowl Behavior. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 378.
  • Johnsgard, P.A. (2010a). "Whistling Ducks: Tribe Dendrocygnini". Waterfowl of North America, Revised Edition. Lincoln: University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. p. 575.
  • Johnsgard, P.A. (2010b). "Tribe Dendrocygnini (Whistling or Tree Ducks)". Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World. Lincoln: University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. p. 404.
  • Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturæ (Tenth ed.). Stockholm, Sweden: Laurentius Salvius. p. 825.
  • Pereira, S.L.; Baker, A.J. (2009). "Waterfowl and gamefowl (Galloanserae)". In Hedges, S.B.; Kumar, S. The Timetree of Life (PDF). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 576. ISBN 978-0-19-160898-8.
  • Steadman, D.W. (2006). Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Islands Birds. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 594. ISBN 0-226-77142-3.
  • Swainson, W. (1837). On the Natural History and Classification of Birds. 2. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman. p. 398.
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