NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
White-faced Whistling Duck
Dendrocygna viduata (Linnaeus, 1766)
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.
An adult White-faced Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna viduata) at Hellabrunn Zoo, Munich, Germany.
Richard Bartz, Munich Makro Freak · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The white-faced whistling duck (Dendrocygna viduata) is a whistling duck that breeds in sub-Saharan Africa and much of South America.
This species is gregarious, and the flocks of a thousand or more arrive at dawn at favored sites. As the name implies, these are noisy birds with a clear three-note whistling call.
Wikipedia contributors, White-faced whistling duck; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:32:53.566030+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dendrocygna viduata (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Common name
- White-faced 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 viduata (Linnaeus, 1766)
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 |
| Plumed Whistling DuckDendrocygna eytoni (Eyton, 1838) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Spotted Whistling DuckDendrocygna guttata Schlegel, 1866 | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lesser Whistling DuckDendrocygna javanica (Horsfield, 1821) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Anas viduata Linnaeus, 1766 Linnaeus, 1766 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Middle America
North America
South America
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=175053 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:34Q36. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.