Dendrocygna arborea
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The West Indian whistling duck (Dendrocygna arborea) is a whistling duck that breeds in the Caribbean. Alternative names are black-billed whistling duck and Cuban whistling duck. The West Indian whistling duck was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Anas arborea. Linnaeus based his account on the descriptions by earlier authors. In 1725 the Irish physician, naturalist and collector Hans Sloane had described and illustrated the "Whistling-Duck" in the second volume of his A Voyage to the Islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and Jamaica. Sloane noted that it was common on the island of Jamaica. The English naturalist George Edwards had included a description and a hand-coloured illustration of the "Black-bill'd whistling Duck" in the fourth volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds that was published in 1751. Edwards had been able to examine a specimen at the home of Admiral Sir Charles Wager at Stanley House in Chelsea, west London.
The West Indian whistling duck is now one of eight species placed in the genus Dendrocygna that was introduced in 1837... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Haitises National Park | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 2 | Ciénaga de Zapata | 🇨🇺 Cuba |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Zoo Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Dallas Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Gatorland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Little Rock Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Parco Zoo Punta Verde | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 7 | Jardín Zoológico El Bosque | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 8 | Randers Tropical Zoo | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 9 | Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo | 🇧🇲 Bermuda | |
| 10 | Wild Discovery Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a West Indian Whistling-Duck sighting in Los Haitises National Park on a given day, based on 136 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 43rd most-seen of the 106 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a West Indian Whistling-Duck in Los Haitises National Park on a given day, against about 10% in January and March, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most West Indian 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 West Indian Whistling-Duck sightings, Los Haitises National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Ciénaga de Zapata (Cuba, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the West Indian Whistling-Duck is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Haitises National Park (136 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.
