Dendrocygna javanica
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The lesser whistling duck (Dendrocygna javanica), also known as Indian whistling duck or lesser whistling teal, is a species of whistling duck that breeds in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. They are nocturnal feeders that during the day may be found in flocks around lakes and wet paddy fields. They can perch on trees and sometimes build their nest in the hollow of a tree. This brown and long-necked duck has broad wings that are visible in flight and produces a loud two-note wheezy call. It has a chestnut rump, differentiating it from its larger relative, the fulvous whistling duck, which has a creamy white rump.
This chestnut brown duck is confusable only with the fulvous whistling duck (D. bicolor) but has chestnut upper-tail coverts unlike the creamy white in the latter. The ring around the eye is orange to yellow. When flying straight, their head is held below the level of the body as in other Dendrocygna species. The crown appears dark and the sexes are alike in plumage. They fly slowly but with rapid wing-flapping and usually produce a repetitive wheezy seasick call as they circle overhead. They are very nocturnal and often rest during the day. The... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 7 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 11 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 12 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 14 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 15 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 16 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 17 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 18 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 19 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 20 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leipzig Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Walsrode World Bird Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Zoo Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Toronto Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Indroda Nature Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Slimbridge Wetland Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 8 | Zoologischer Garten Leipzig | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 9 | Fort Worth Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Lisbon Zoo | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 11 | Cologne Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 12 | Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 13 | Kuala Lumpur Bird Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 14 | Ueno Zoological Gardens (West Garden) | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 15 | Avifauna | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 16 | Penang Bird Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 17 | Thrissur Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 18 | Cologne Zoo Aquarium | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 19 | Wolfgang-Köhler-Primaten-Forschungszentrum | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Whistling-Duck sighting in Sundarbans National Park on a given day, based on 662 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 34th most-seen of the 177 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
In that month about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Whistling-Duck in Sundarbans National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March and October, the lowest months. That is one of Sundarbans National Park's wettest months, with about 480 mm of rain against 15 mm in January. May and June have too few records to rate.
Between 4 and 7 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lesser Whistling-Duck sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
4th of 20
Of the 20 parks where we can rate Lesser Whistling-Duck sightings, Sundarbans National Park ranks 4th at about 40%. The best odds are in Yala National Park (Sri Lanka, about 70%), Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka, about 40%) and Keoladeo National Park (India, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lesser Whistling-Duck is recorded against all the birds logged in Sundarbans National Park (662 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.
