30 
FANCY WATERFOWL. 
CHAPTER VII. 
WHISTLERS. 
The group of Whistling or Tree ducks is one very dis- 
tinct from all others, and when one member of it has 
been seen any can be easily recognised. The head and 
bill are ordinary enough, though the dark eyes are rather 
larger than usual , but the general build is very unlike 
that of other ducks, being light and reachy, with long 
neck and shanks, large feet, and long, prominent thighs 
set well back and close together. The tail is very short, 
and the wings, though broad and large for the size of the 
bird, are very short in the flights, which do not appear 
when the wing is closed. By this, and by the fact that 
the wings are black beneath, a Whistler may be known 
at once. The webs of the feet are not so full as in most 
ducks, and the hind toe is larger than is usually the case ; 
altogether, these birds are rather intermediate in form 
between ducks and some of the waders. Their colours 
are very pretty and showy, though no brilliant or metallic 
hues occur ; duck and drake are quite alike, and the 
young differ little if at all from them ; there is no summer 
change. The Whistlers are found in warm climates only, 
but extend all round the world ; they are ducks of 
singularly all-round abilities. Walking without the 
usual waddle, though with a very erect carriage on land, 
they are nevertheless good swimmers, and dive nearly as 
well as Pochards, like which birds (whose turn will come 
last of all) they often feed at the bottom, though in order 
to dive they make a spring which lifts their bodies clear 
of the surface, instead of going under easily and without 
effort. They fly slowly, as might be expected from their 
broad, hollow rounded wings ; but this conformation 
gives them much more control over their flight in a 
small space ; and they perch so readily that they are 
often known as tree ducks, nesting also in trees as a rule. 
Their call is a cackling whistle, similar in both sexes, 
whence their more appropriate name, since other ducks 
frequent trees, notably those of the section last dealt 
with. 'J hey are not large birds, averaging about 
eighteen inches long. 
Although no single species of this group equals several 
others in at ti activeness, yet, taken as a group, no other 
ducks, in my opinion, come up to them. They are very 
easily tamed and kept, and interesting to watch, being 
very courageous and affectionate, like the Mandarin and 
Carolina, nor are they exacting as to accommodation. 
But they have two rather serious drawbacks. One is 
that they are not so hardy as other ducks, being, as 
above stated, denizens of warm climates only ; the 
other is that, though so tasily tamed, they are very 
hard to breed, only one cpecies, and that the least 
attractive, having as yet .rested in captivity. This, 
however, ought only to stimulate fanciers to persevere 
with them; and as to their want of hardihood, this 
merely means they must be cared for under cover in 
winter like valuable poultry or pigeons, being given 
quarters in a warm, covered, sheltered run, well littered 
and furnished with perches — for owing to the necessity 
for taking them in in winter, it is quite unnecessary to 
pinion them, in my opinion. If this be done, however, 
the joint should not be cut as advised in my intro- 
ductory article, as buds so treated may stillibe able to 
fly. Instead, the bone itself should be severed as close 
up to the pinion-joint as possible with a strong pair of 
scissors, this being, indeed, the method recommended by 
some authorities for all waterfowl, though, personally, I 
think this takes off too much in the case of long-fliglited 
birds. "■ And Whistlers, I think, should certainly be 
kept under netting unless they can have a big pond to 
range over, as they are better suited to aviary life than 
other ducks except Mandarins. 
After this somewhat lengthy preliminary, I will pro- 
ceed to the description of the various species at present 
available, which are four in number, and, resembling 
each other almost as closely as varieties of a breed of 
poultry or pigeons, will not detain us very long, thus 
making amends for previous prolixity. 
THE WHITE-FACED WHISTLER. 
(Dcndrocygnci viduata . ) 
This species, the prettiest of the lot, to my thinking, 
inhabits Tropical Africa and America, and is. very 
showily marked ; the face and throat are white, the rest 
of the head and neck black, the breast bright cinnamon, 
the flanks barred buff and black, divided by the black 
of the belly and stern ; the rump, flights, and tail are 
also black, the rest of the wings slate witli a reddish- 
cinnamon shoulder-patch, and the back dark brown laced 
with buff ; the bill and feet are grey, as is generally 
the case with Whistlers. 
This species is frequently shown, and, in addition to 
its striking plumage, nas the recommendation of being 
more graceful in form and musical in voice than any of 
the other Whistlers : but I have heard that it is some- 
times very pugnacious. 
THE RED-BILLED WHISTLER. 
(Dcndrocygnci autumnalis.) 
This is also a very pretty bird, but not so graceful as 
the preceding ; it has the webs of the feet less well 
developed than the rest. It inhabits the warm parts of 
America, and is often shown, being freely imported tc 
Europe. The red bill and flesh-coloured feet will at 
once distinguish it from any other \\ lustier. The 
plumage is also characteristic, the general colour above 
being cinnamon-brown without bars or lacing, passing 
into pale drab on the sides of the head and neck. The 
underparts below the breast, the rump, flanks, flights, tail, 
and a streak down the back of the neck, are all black, 
with the exception of a white patch at the root of the 
flights, and of the stern, which is white spotted with black. 
Young birds are greyer above, and have the belly and 
flanks dirty white with dark bars. 
THE SMALL INDIAN WHISTLER. 
(Dcndrocygnci javanica . ) 
This is the smallest of the Whist’ers and the plainest 
in colour, but is still a very neat and pretty little bird, 
abundant in the warm parts of Eastern Asia, where it 
ranges from India to Java. Its general colour is dun, 
shading into cinnamon on the belly. The back is slate 
barred with dun. The flights are black, and there is a 
reddish-cinnamon patch on the shoulder of the wing and 
at the root of the tail. The beak and feet are dark grey 
and the eyelids bright yellow, as in the Blackbird, beauti- 
fully setting off the dark eye. Young birds merely 
differ in having the underparts dun throughout. This 
duck is freely imported and very cheap, but unusually 
sensitive to cold. 
THE LARGE INDIAN WHISTLER. 
(Dcndrocygnci fulvn . ) 
This specie®, also known as the Fulvous Duck, has a 
most peculiar range, being found in warm countries all 
round the world, in Africa, India, an 1 America, and is 
the only non-migratory bird which can say as much for 
itself except our own Barn Owl, which does not keep to 
warm countries only. 
The Large Whistler has not much else to pride itself on, 
for it is a very ungainly-looking bird, the biggest of all 
the Whistlers, with a large coarse head, and positively 
enormous feet, like mud-boards. However, its colora- 
tion makes some amends, it being of a rich cinnamon, 
the beak black with cinnamon bars, and the wings 
mostly black. There is a black streak down the back 
of the neck, a cicam bar at the root of the tail, and 
| some cream splashes on the flanks. The feet are French. 
