NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Plumed Whistling Duck
Dendrocygna eytoni (Eyton, 1838)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Plumed whistling duck (Dendrocygna eytoni), Yellow Water, Kakadu National Park, NT, Australia
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The plumed whistling duck (Dendrocygna eytoni), also called the grass whistling duck, is a species of bird in the whistling duck subfamily of the family Anatidae. It is resident and breeds in Australia, in a broad arc covering the northern half and most of the eastern third of the continent. There are also non-breeding and seasonally uncertain populations in New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It is a predominantly brown-coloured duck with a long neck and characteristic plumes arising from its flanks. The sexes are similar in appearance.
Wikipedia contributors, Plumed whistling duck; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:28:57.685146+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dendrocygna eytoni (Eyton, 1838)
- Name authority
- (Eyton, 1838)
- Common name
- Plumed Whistling Duck
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Dendrocygna
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae Leach, 1820
- genusDendrocygna Swainson, 1837
- speciesDendrocygna eytoni (Eyton, 1838)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Dendrocygna. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| West Indian Whistling DuckDendrocygna arborea (Linnaeus, 1758) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Wandering Whistling DuckDendrocygna arcuata (Horsfield, 1824) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-bellied Whistling DuckDendrocygna autumnalis (Linnaeus, 1758) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fulvous Whistling DuckDendrocygna bicolor (Vieillot, 1816) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Spotted Whistling DuckDendrocygna guttata Schlegel, 1866 | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lesser Whistling DuckDendrocygna javanica (Horsfield, 1821) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-faced Whistling DuckDendrocygna viduata (Linnaeus, 1766) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Leptotarsis eytoni Eyton, 1838 Eyton, 1838 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=175050 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:34Q33. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.