AI reconstruction created with Nano Banana 2 · 1K, grounded in the profile’s documented taxonomy, habitat, natural-history sources, and an open-license visual reference when available. It is an interpretive image, not documentary evidence. Image policy →

Verified source photographDick DanielsCC-BY-SA · View source ↗

PRB-0003Anseriformes

West Indian Whistling-Duck

Chiriría Caribeña

Dendrocygna arborea

ResidentIUCN NT · Near Threatened

The West Indian whistling duck (Dendrocygna arborea) is a whistling duck that breeds in the Caribbean. Alternative names are black-billed whistling duck and Cuban whistling duck.

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FamilyAnatidaeDucks, Geese, and Waterfowl

Puerto Rico occurrenceResidentAvibase inferred core 380

Primary habitatFreshwater and brackish wetlands; mangrove lagoons; rice/agricultural wetlandsFreshwater and brackish wetlands; mangrove lagoons; rice/agricultural wetlands

Primary dietFruitOmnivore

Average mass1030 gGlobal trait estimate

MovementSedentary / residentTerrestrial

Sound archive

Hear its voice

Explore real songs and calls. The spectrogram turns each sound into a visual trace of time and frequency.

XC173684Recording 1 of 3call

SpectrogramDendrocygna arborea

0:000:29

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Sound recorded by Eric DeFonso · XC173684 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Visualization by Stichting Xeno-canto voor Natuurgeluiden.

Every recording retains the creator, catalogue number, and license published by Xeno-canto. Metadata via GBIF ↗

Island profile

Catalog scopeAvibase inferred core 380

About the West Indian Whistling-Duck

This atlas includes West Indian Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna arborea) with atlas status “Resident” within scope “Avibase inferred core 380.” Puerto Rico context sources associate it with Freshwater and brackish wetlands; mangrove lagoons; rice/agricultural wetlands.

Conservation

Near Threatened

IUCN NT; DNER CR

Global IUCN: NT
Puerto Rico DNER: CR
Federal ESA: No current listing in source crosswalk
Critical habitat: Not identified in source crosswalk

Natural history

How it lives

Habitat: Freshwater and brackish wetlands; mangrove lagoons; rice/agricultural wetlands
Elevation: 0–200 m
Nest: Tree cavity; Scrape · Ground; Tree
Clutch: 4–16 eggs
Social behavior: Social / flocking

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Keep exploring

This bird belongs to 10 paths through the atlas.

The complete catalogAll Birds of Puerto Rico402 birds →Birds by habitatCoastal Birds62 birds →Birds by habitatForest Birds159 birds →Birds by habitatGrassland & Farmland Birds65 birds →Birds by habitatWetland Birds116 birds →ConservationNear Threatened Birds25 birds →ConservationPuerto Rico DNER-Listed Birds28 birds →Occurrence in Puerto RicoBreeding Birds55 birds →Occurrence in Puerto RicoResident Birds47 birds →Bird familyDucks, Geese, and Waterfowl (Anatidae)31 birds →

Guides featuring this bird

Follow this record beyond the profile.

Identification, sound, place, and explanatory guides connecting this species to larger questions.

01Wetland routeCabo Rojo and Laguna CartagenaOpen guide ↗02Wetland guideBirds of HumacaoOpen guide ↗

Evidence trail

Sources, media & further reading

eBird species profile↗Macaulay Library media↗iNaturalist observations↗GBIF occurrence data↗BirdLife species factsheet↗Xeno-canto recordings↗Wikipedia in English↗Wikipedia en Español↗Media source · commons.wikimedia.org↗Source record 1↗Source record 2↗Source record 3↗Source record 4↗Source record 5↗

Research note: Critically endangered in both cited Commonwealth snapshots