Lesser Whistling-duck vs Blue-billed Teal

Dendrocygna javanica comparé à Spatula hottentota

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Attribut Lesser Whistling-duck Blue-billed Teal
Nom scientifique Dendrocygna javanica Spatula hottentota
Ordre Anseriformes Anseriformes
Famille Anatidae Anatidae
Statut de conservation Least Concern Least Concern
Longueur
Envergure 38,8 cm (15.3 in) 29,4 cm (11.6 in)
Poids 525,0 g (18.52 oz) 269,2 g (9.50 oz)
Régime alimentaire Grazes subarctic grasses and rushes; migratory; winters on estuarine mudflats and coastal grasslands eating eelgrass … Feeds on seeds, aquatic plants, and invertebrates; filter-feeds in shallow water; broadly omnivorous and seasonally …
Taille de la couvée 7-17 5-12
Population Trend
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Habitat Comparison

Habitats partagés

Lesser Whistling-duck only

Blue-billed Teal only

Aucun(e)

Lesser Whistling-duck

Freshwater wetlands, lakes, rice paddies, mangroves, and slow rivers across South and Southeast Asia from India through southern China to Borneo and Indonesia. Common near cultivated land and human settlements.

Blue-billed Teal

Freshwater lakes, marshes, pans, and flooded grasslands across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and Sudan south to the Cape. Nomadic; follows seasonal rains. Common but easily overlooked among reed beds.

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Song & Call Comparison

Lesser Whistling-duck

Chant

A softer, higher-pitched whistle than other Dendrocygna. Call is a quick 'we-we' given in flight. Smaller size reflected in higher-pitched and thinner quality of call.

Blue-billed Teal

Chant

Male utters a soft, teal-like peep; female gives a muted quack. Pairs call quietly in dense papyrus; soft contact calls help birds maintain proximity in thick African marsh vegetation.

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Geographic Range & Migration

Lesser Whistling-duck

Breeds on tundra of northern Canada and Alaska; winters on the Pacific coast from California to Mexico and Central America.

Blue-billed Teal

Breeds in Arctic and subarctic Eurasia; winters at sea in the North Atlantic and from western Europe to eastern Africa.

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Statut de conservation

Least Concern

Lesser Whistling-duck

Least Concern

Blue-billed Teal

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How to Tell Them Apart

Lesser Whistling-duck

Plumage

Warm chestnut-brown overall; head and neck brown; upperparts dark brown. Chestnut rump and upper-tail conspicuous in flight. Flanks chestnut with pale streaks. Bill and legs dark gray. Sexes similar.

Blue-billed Teal

Plumage

Small; males have pale blue-gray bill contrasting with brown-gray body. Head finely spotted; underparts barred brown and white. Males show powder-blue forewing in flight. Females browner. African marsh species.

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About These Birds

Lesser Whistling-duck

A small warm brown whistling-duck with chestnut upper-tail coverts, a pale face, and dark brown cap. The most widespread and common whistling-duck in Asia. Found in freshwater wetlands from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia. Nests in holes in trees and sometimes in thatched roofs.

Blue-billed Teal

A small dark teal with blue-grey bill and legs, brown-streaked plumage, and fine pale spotting on the flanks. The most widespread teal in sub-Saharan Africa. Found on freshwater lakes and marshes. Highly nomadic; follows seasonal rainfall. Swims low in the water like a pochard.

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