British Waterfowl Association

Wandering Whistling Duck

East Indian Wandering Whistling Duck
East Indian Wandering Whistling Duck - Katie Gipple-Lubbock

Three subspecies recognized:

  • East Indian Whistling Duck D. a. arcuata  of Philippines, southern Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Moluccas and Lesser Sundas.
  • D. a. pygmaea  of New Britain, where possibly extinct; formerly also Fiji.
  • Australian Wandering Whistling Duck D. a. australis  of southern New Guinea lowlands and northern and eastern Australia.

Dendrocygna arcuata

The three subspecies of Wandering Whistling Ducks have been considered to be closely related to the Fulvous, and have indeed hybridised with them. Form pygmaea is appreciably smaller, but seemingly identical in plumage.

2 East Indian Whistling Ducks standing on grass
East Indian Wandering Whistling Duck - Ian Gereg

It is the East Indian Whistling Duck that you are most likely to see in collections, being represented in both Europe and North America.

Australian Wandering Whistling Duck swimming with floating vegetation in the foreground
Australian Wandering Whistling Duck - Neil Bowman

FURTHER READING

Johnsgard, P. A. Ducks, Geese and Swans of the World, Digital Commons@University of Nebraska – Lincoln (2010) Tribe Dendrocygnini.