Wandering Whistling-duck vs Spectacled Eider

Dendrocygna arcuata مقارنةً بـ Somateria fischeri

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Side-by-Side Comparison

السمة Wandering Whistling-duck Spectacled Eider
الاسم العلمي Dendrocygna arcuata Somateria fischeri
الرتبة Anseriformes Anseriformes
الفصيلة Anatidae Anatidae
حالة الحفاظ Least Concern Near Threatened
الطول
طول الجناح 37,2 cm (14.6 in) 49,2 cm (19.4 in)
الوزن 779,5 g (27.50 oz) 1443,75 g (50.93 oz)
النظام الغذائي Eats grasses, sedges, and aquatic plants in tundra; winter diet of coastal salt marsh grasses … Dives for bivalves, crustaceans, and aquatic insects in shallow Arctic coastal and freshwater habitats. Insects …
عدد البيض في الوضع 6-15 1-9
Population Trend
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Habitat Comparison

الموائل المشتركة

Wandering Whistling-duck only

بلا

Spectacled Eider only

Wandering Whistling-duck

Tropical freshwater marshes, flooded grasslands, swamps, and lake margins from the Philippines and Indonesia through Papua New Guinea to northern and eastern Australia. Nomadic following wet season flooding.

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Song & Call Comparison

Wandering Whistling-duck

الغناء

A soft whistle 'whi-whi-whi' in flight. Less vocal than other whistling-ducks; flocks tend to be quieter. Given at dawn and dusk during flight to roosting or feeding areas.

Spectacled Eider

الغناء

Male gives a low, melodious aah-ooo cooing; female produces a guttural, grunting call. The male's ghostly, organ-like cooing call carries across Arctic tundra ponds in the breeding season.

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Geographic Range & Migration

Wandering Whistling-duck

Breeds in Arctic and subarctic regions; winters at sea around the Antarctic pack ice, one of the longest migrations known.

Spectacled Eider

Breeds on coastal tundra of western and northern Alaska. Winters along the Bering Sea coast from Alaska to Kamchatka. Largely sedentary.

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حالة الحفاظ

Least Concern

Wandering Whistling-duck

Near Threatened

Spectacled Eider

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How to Tell Them Apart

Wandering Whistling-duck

الريش

Rich chestnut-brown head and neck; dark brown back. Flanks rufous with pale buff streaks and dark spots. Belly blackish. Long, dark pinkish legs. Upright posture typical of whistling-ducks. Sexes similar.

Spectacled Eider

الريش

Male has white back and black breast with pale sage-green head framed by large white goggle-like spectacles edged black. Female mottled tawny-brown with faint spectacle outline.

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About These Birds

Wandering Whistling-duck

A medium-sized whistling-duck with rufous-brown body, dark brown back, pale buff underparts, and a chestnut collar. Found in tropical wetlands from Indonesia to Australia and Pacific islands. Highly social and nomadic. Forages by dabbling and diving in shallow freshwater.

Spectacled Eider

A medium-large sea duck of the family Anatidae, weighing ~1.4 kg with distinctive pale green goggles in males. Breeds on Arctic tundra of Alaska and Russia; winters in pack ice of the Bering Sea. Dives for benthic invertebrates and mollusks. Near Threatened due to population declines linked to lead poisoning and habitat change.

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