Lesser Whistling Duck

The lesser whistling duck is a chestnut-brown, long-necked duck with broad wings and an orange to yellow ring around the eye; the sexes look alike. It can be told from the larger fulvous whistling duck by its chestnut, not creamy white, upper-tail coverts. In flight it holds its head below the level of the body and flaps rapidly but flies slowly. A modified outer flight feather makes a prominent whistling sound, and flocks give a repeated, wheezy two-note call as they circle overhead (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is gregarious and largely nocturnal, resting by day in flocks on lake banks and wet paddy fields and feeding at night on water plants and rice, plus small fish, frogs, molluscs and worms, both dabbling and diving. It perches readily in trees. It breeds in the monsoon, nesting in a tree hole, a tree fork, an old kite or heron nest, or on the ground, and both parents incubate 7–12 white eggs. In India it is resident with a very large range; SoIB 2023 finds its trends stable and rates it a Low conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).