Nesting Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks

Its name sounds almost weird enough to give the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker a run for its money, but, like the sapsucker, the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is a real animal.  It does have a whistling call, which you may hear frequently during the summer at Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, a spot in eastern Mississippi where these ducks have nested in recent years.  Before that time, it was unusual to see Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks at the refuge; they were normally found in western Mississippi, but not in the eastern portion of the state (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-bellied_Whistling-Duck/maps-range).  An apparent range expansion is occurring right before our eyes.

I saw several of these Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks at Noxubee NWR this past May.  I was at Goose Overlook at the time, but the ducks can be viewed from a number of other refuge locations, including Bluff Lake Boardwalk, Cypress Cove Boardwalk, and Webster Memorial Grove.  They are dabbling ducks, which means that they spend a lot of time foraging for plants near the shore and in shallow water.  Also, like the common and familiar Wood Ducks, they nest in tree cavities and artificial nest boxes.

Goose Overlook is a great place for avifauna, in general, and I had already seen and heard many birds—e.g., herons and egrets, Anhingas, Eastern Wood-Pewees, Great Crested Flycatchers, swallows, warblers, etc.—before the calls of the Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks drew my attention.  Two ducks flew by and landed somewhere out of sight, but two others swooped down to perch on a nesting box near the observation platform.  Their coral-colored bills and legs, white-ringed eyes, chestnut backs, and black-and-white wings were striking and gloriously weird.  Is it any surprise that I always enjoy looking at these birds?

The nest-box birds merely loafed and preened for a few minutes, perhaps distracted by the fact that I was spying on them.  Eventually, though, one of them clambered into the box.  I later learned that this year is apparently the first time that this species has been observed nesting in an artificial structure at Noxubee NWR.  Researchers documented the eggs and banded one of the ducks for future observation.  Who knows?  If this species keeps returning to the refuge to breed, it may eventually spread to other parts of eastern Mississippi.  If you’re watching birds in any part of that region, keep your eyes open for these unusual and interesting ducks.