Wandering Whistling-duck vs Garganey
Dendrocygna arcuata compared with Spatula querquedula
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Wandering Whistling-duck | Garganey |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Dendrocygna arcuata | Spatula querquedula |
| Order | Anseriformes | Anseriformes |
| Family | Anatidae | Anatidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 37.2 cm (14.6 in) | 37.6 cm (14.8 in) |
| Weight | 779.5 g (27.50 oz) | 401.25 g (14.15 oz) |
| Diet | Eats grasses, sedges, and aquatic plants in tundra; winter diet of coastal salt marsh grasses … | Eats seeds, plant matter, and aquatic invertebrates; dabbles in shallow wetlands; diet shifts toward invertebrates … |
| Clutch Size | 6-15 | 6-14 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
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.
Garganey
Breeds on freshwater marshes, flooded meadows, and lake margins in Eurasia from Europe east to Siberia. Winters across sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia in wetlands of all kinds.
Song & Call Comparison
Wandering Whistling-duck
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.
Garganey
Male produces a distinctive mechanical rattle or craking sound; female gives a subdued quack. The rattling male call is unlike any other teal and immediately diagnostic.
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.
Garganey
Breeds across the Palearctic; winters from western Europe and North Africa east through South Asia to Southeast Asia.
Conservation Status
Wandering Whistling-duck
Garganey
How to Tell Them Apart
Wandering Whistling-duck
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.
Garganey
Breeding males have chocolate-brown head with sweeping white supercilium. Blue-gray forewing; green speculum with white border. Gray flanks with white vermiculations. Females brown with white loral stripe.
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.
Garganey
A small migratory teal. Males are unmistakable with a broad white supercilium, chocolate-brown head, and bluish-grey wing coverts. The only Eurasian duck that is fully migratory, wintering in Africa and South Asia. Breeds across Eurasia; one of the most long-distance migrant ducks.