Wandering Whistling-duck
Wandering Whistling Duck, Adelaide Zoo, South Australia
I have never seen a Wandering Whistling-duck in the natural environment. Sadly, I’ve never been to areas where this species lives in the wild, namely northern Western Australia, Northern Territory and eastern Queensland. One day I’ll get there – but not yet.
Instead, I have to content myself to seeing this species in captivity, such as the bird shown in the photo above, taken recently in the walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo.
We have two whistling-duck species in Australia, the other being the Plumed Whistling-duck. They get their name from their whistling call, usually when in flight.
Their preferred habitats include lakes and swamps, flooded grasslands, the edges of rivers and dams.
Further reading:
They are very handsome birds. I’ve only seen them a few times — most frequently on the freshwater Centenary Lake in Cairns, where I presume they’re wild. Plumed whistling ducks, on the other hand, are all over the place up here!
I’ve seen (and heard!) whistling ducks in Texas at a golf course, and even though I knew they were not native (right??) I love their sounds and think they are a little bit more elegant in build than the average duck. A bit longer legged, if I recall. Anyhow, nice to see them again. =) Beauties!