English            -              White-faced Whistling-Duck

Portuguese    -               Irerê

Latin               -               Dendrocygna viduata

The white-faced whistling duck goes by its name as a whistling duck, so does not quack like most ducks.

The white-faced whistling duck has a peculiar disjunctive distribution, occurring in Africa and South America. It has been suggested that some may have been transported to new locations worldwide. The white-faced whistling-duck occupies a variety of freshwater habitats, including lakes, swamps, large rivers and flood-plains and some artificial habitats, such as rice fields and sewage farms. It prefers wetlands in open county with mud or sandbars and a rich variety of emergent vegetation for nesting

The white-faced whistling-duck is a long-legged duck with a conspicuous white face and neck patch that sits in sharp contrast to its otherwise black and brown plumage. The rest of the head and neck is black along with the wings, rump and tail, and the breast is a rich chestnut colour. The sides of the body are lightly barred black and white, and the bill and legs are slaty grey. The male and female white-faced whistling-duck are similar in appearance, although the female is typically less bold in colour and the juveniles have a greyish, white or ash-grey face, throat and underparts, and the chestnut on the breast is less extensively and duller. They can reach up to 45 cm in length and can weigh around 900 grams.

They eat underwater tubers and seeds of aquatic plants, also molluscs, small aquatic animals and invertebrates such as aquatic insects, they commonly obtain their food by diving.

The nest of the white-faced whistling duck is a simple depression in the ground amongst tall grass or reed beds over water but occasionally in tree hollows. They lay between 6 to 10 white eggs, which are incubated by both, female and male, for 26 to 28 days. Chicks leave the nest and fledge eight weeks after hatching. After breeding, white-faced whistling ducks undergo a flightless molt period that lasts from 18-25 days.

With a very wide distribution, and a large population that is thought to be increasing in size, the white-faced whistling-duck is not under immediate threat of extinction. The species is, however, susceptible to avian botulism and avian influenza, and so may become threatened by future outbreaks of these diseases. In parts of its African range, the white-faced whistling-duck is hunted for local consumption and trade, such as in Malawi and Botswana, and is hunted for use in traditional medicine in Nigeria

Both photos of the White-faced Whistling-Duck were taken at Parque das Aves - Foz do Iguasu - Parana