The Story
I photographed this Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) at Hato Barley in Tauramena, Casanare, Colombia. Males and females look alike, and juveniles have a gray bill and a less contrasting belly. It usually nests in hollow trees, and in South America often in palm trees. Pairs often stay together for many years. Both parents share every task in raising the young, from incubation to rearing the ducklings. At the heart of its range it tends to travel in flocks in the winter months. Since 1995 royalties from Tauramena’s oil fields have funded much of its development.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. IUCN lists the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck as Least Concern, with an increasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) belongs to the family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2021), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List