DUCK 2/15 - Lesser Whistling Duck

 Lesser Whistling Duck

Lesser Whistling Duck are usually gregarious. They feed mainly on plants taken from the water as well as grains from cultivated rice apart from small fish, frogs and invertebrates such as molluscs and worms.They dabble as well as dive in water. They will often waddle on the land and Common Mynas have been noted to follow them on grass.

This is a largely resident species distributed widely across lowland wetlands of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. They also occur on islands in the region including the Andamans, Nicobars and Maldives. To see them you have to go to Kinta Bird Santuary Bt Gajah.

Courtship involves the male facing the female and dipping and raising its bill in the water and swimming around the female. They breed during the monsoon or rainy season and may vary locally in relation to the food availability. The nest site may be a tree hole lined with twigs and grass or built in the fork of large tree, sometimes reusing and old nest of a kite or heron or even on the ground. The clutch varies from 7 to 12 white eggs that are incubated by both the parents. Large clutches of up to 17 have been noted  although these may be indications of intraspecific brood parasitism. The eggs hatch after about 22-24 days. More than one brood may be raised in a single season. Young birds may sometimes be carried on the back of the parents.