Black-bellied Whistling Duck

The Black-bellied Whistling Duck or Black-bellied Whistling-Duck(Dendrocygna autumnalis), formerly also called Black-bellied Tree Duck, is a whistling duck that breeds from the southernmost United Statesand tropical Central to south-central South America. In the USA, it can be found year-round in parts of southeast Texas, and seasonally in southeastArizona, and Louisiana's Gulf Coast. It is a rare breeder in such disparate locations as Florida, Arkansas, Georgia and South Carolina. There is a large population of several hundred that winter each year in Audubon Park in uptown New Orleans, Louisiana.

It is widely known as pijije (also pixixi or pichichi), chiriría or sirirí in Latin America, though this can also refer to other whistling-ducks and a qualifyer such as ala blanca or aliblanco ("white-winged") is usually added to signify this species. In Mexico, it is also called pato maízal ("cornfield duck") due to its habit of visiting such fields after harvest. And since it is one of only two whistling-duck species native to North America, it is occasionally just known as the "whistling duck" in the southern USA.

The Black-bellied Whistling Duck is an unusual species among North American waterfowl. With its long legs, peculiar appearance and odd habits, it was described by one early American ornithologist[who?] as "most un-duck-like". Its numbers are increasing in North America.