Dendrocygna autumnalis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Black-bellied Whistling-duck

Florida native

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This distinctive waterfowl can be a year-round resident of Florida, present both in the winter and during breeding season. Ranging mostly from Mexico to Brazil, they can also be found in southern Texas and during the summer in southeastern Arizona and southern Louisiana.
Black-bellied whistling-ducks usually nest in unlined tree cavities, but will sometimes nest in a scrape on the ground or a bowl of woven grasses if there is protective vegetation overhead.
Dendrocygna autumnalis is a medium sized duck with pale pink legs, long neck, and red bill. The belly is black, face grey and the chest and back are rufous, extending in a thin dark band up the back of the neck and over the crest of the head.
Numbers of this species are increasing in the United States.

Dendrocygna autumnalis is a member of the Anatidae - Ducks, Geese and Swans family.

iNaturalist profile for this species

For more information on this species, visit the following link:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds page for this species

Date record last modified: Mar 03, 2025