Dendrocygna eytoni
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The plumed whistling duck (Dendrocygna eytoni), also called the grass whistling duck, is a species of bird in the whistling duck subfamily of the family Anatidae. It is resident and breeds in Australia, in a broad arc covering the northern half and most of the eastern third of the continent. There are also non-breeding and seasonally uncertain populations in New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It is a predominantly brown-coloured duck with a long neck and characteristic plumes arising from its flanks. The sexes are similar in appearance.
Described by English naturalist Thomas Campbell Eyton in 1838, its specific epithet honours its namer. Its generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek terms dendron "tree", and kuknos (via Latin cygnus) "swan". Alternate common names include; Eyton's plumed, red-legged or whistling tree-duck, and grey or red-legged whistler.
Measuring 42–60 cm (16.5–23.5 in) and weighing around one kilogram (2.2 lb), it is a long-necked duck with brown upperparts, paler underparts and a white rump. The chest is a chestnut colour with thin black bars, while long black-margined plumes arise from its flanks... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Litchfield National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisbane | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Plumed Whistling Duck sighting in Kakadu National Park on a given day, based on 874 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 27th most-seen of the 186 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and September–November
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Plumed Whistling Duck in Kakadu National Park on a given day, against about 20% in March, the lowest month. Those are among Kakadu National Park's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain a month against 350 mm in January. February has too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Plumed Whistling Duck sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Plumed Whistling Duck sightings, Kakadu National Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Litchfield National Park (Australia, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Plumed Whistling Duck is recorded against all the birds logged in Kakadu National Park (874 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
