Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Dendrocygna autumnalis

Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Dendrocygna autumnalis. Identification courtesy of Harrison Jones, Ivins, Utah.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Dendrocygna autumnalis. Photograph taken in the coastal region of Guatemala, March 2020. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Dendrocygna autumnalis. Photograph taken within a residential community in Alamos, Sonora, March 2019. Photograph and  identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Dendrocygna autumnalis. Photograph taken in the greater Puerto Vallarta area, Guerrero, March 2014. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

The Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Dendrocygna autumnalis, is a member of the Anatidae Family of Ducks, Geese and Waterfowl. They are large in stature. In Mexico they are found in all low-level coastal regions within both the Atlantic and the Pacific Slopes on the mainland at elevations up to 2,500 m (8,200 feet). They are also found in the coastal region of southern Baja California. From a conservation perspective the Black-bellied Whistling Duck is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are found in low plain locations and slightly wooded lands, with the canopy of tropical humid rainforests and in shallow freshwater lakes and ponds. They consume plant materials including grasses and seeds.