Fulvous Whistling or Tree Duck and Black-bellied Tree Duck

A Fulvulous Tree or Whistling Duck, St. James Park, UK; 4/8/10.

I love the name of the Fulvous Tree Duck, which according to several sites are also called Fulvous Whistling Ducks. The Fulvous (which means tawny) Ducks are natives of tropical or semi-tropical countries. Two species are found in the United States, the bird photographed (above) and the Black-bellied Tree-duck (Below). The range of the fulvous species extends from the southern border of the United States, and in Arizona, Nevada and California, along the Gulf Coast (Florida, Lousiana, and Texas) and southward through Mexico, and reappears in the southern portion of Brazil and in the Argentine Republic. It has also been reported as a visitor to the states of North Carolina and Missouri. These ducks are also common in India and Africa, as well as parts of western Europe. As you can see, this species has a most unusual world distribution and, remarkably, without variety in appearance.

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Aviary at the Sonoran Desert Museum, Tuscon, AZ; 12/27/09.

While we were in Tucson, visiting the Sonoran Desert Museum, we saw some Black-bellied Whistling Ducks in the Aviary, which only house birds of the Arizona Desert.  Like the Fulvous Whistling duck, it has a very high upright stance which lends it a sense of elegance, if not arrogance. The Black-bellies range into the U.S. extends a little farther than the Fulvous Whistling Ducks. They can be found in the same areas as the Fulvous, but also can be found throughout Florida.