BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK 

 ( Dendrocygna autumnalis ) 



[FR: Dendrocygne a bee rouge, GE: Herbstpfeif gans , SP: Pato silbador pico rojo, 

 Pichichi comun; US: Black-bellied Tree Duck, Red-billed Whistling-Duck, Black- 

 bellied Wood Duck, Red-billed Tree Duck, Gray-breasted Tree Duck] 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION 



The Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is primarily a bird of South and Central 

 America, reaching the northern limit of its distribution in the southern United 

 States. The only regular occurrence in the United States is in lower coastal 

 Texas, where the species is a breeding resident (AOU 1957, Bellrose 1976). 

 Numbers fluctuate markedly from year to year, but the recent trend has been an 

 increase, with an estimate for 1974 of 3,000 breeding birds (Oberholser 1974, 

 Bellrose 1976). Records elsewhere in the southeastern United States include 

 one from Georgia (Teulings 1977b), and several from Florida and Louisiana. Many 

 of the records from these latter two states may have been of escaped captives 

 or introduced birds (Kale 1974, 1978; Lowery 1974). 



SUSCEPTIBILITY TO OIL POLLUTION 



We have no reports of oiled Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks. These are pri- 

 marily birds of inland waters, and even in coastal areas do not venture fre- 

 quently into the open ocean. Because of their habits and because only a small 

 proportion of the total population occurs in the southeastern states, it is un- 

 likely that development in that area would be of serious consequence to Black- 

 bellied Whistling-Ducks. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



1980 



Boyd, R. L., E. Schulenberg, J. Schulenberg and M. Schulenberg. 1980. Black- 

 bellied Whistling Duck at Quivera National Wildlife Refuge. Bull. Kansas 

 Ornithol. Soc. 31: 38. 



Rylander, M. K. , E. G. Bolen and R. E. McCamant. 1980. Evidence of incubation 

 patches in Whistling Ducks. Southwest. Nat. 25: 126-128. 



1979 



Bolen, E. G. 1979. The Black-bellied whistling Duck in south Texas: a review. 

 Pp. 175-185 In. D. L. Drawe (ed.) Proc . Symp. First Welder Wildlife Founda- 

 tion, 14 October 1978, Corpus Christi, TX. 



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