ANATOMY OF BIRDS
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS
CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS
LIZARD-TAILED BIRD
AMERICAN TOOTHED-BIRDS
THE OSTRICHES
THE RHEAS
EMEUS AND CASSOWARIES
THE TINAMOUS
THE KIWIS
THE PENGUINS
LOONS AND GREBES
ALBATROSSES & PETRELS
STORK-LIKE BIRDS
GOOSE-LIKE BIRDS
FALCON-LIKE BIRDS
FOWL-LIKE BIRDS
CRANE-LIKE BIRDS
PLOVER-LIKE BIRDS
CUCKOO-LIKE BIRDS
THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS
SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE GOOSE-LIKE BIRDS
THE SWANS, GEESE, DUCKS, AND MERGANSERS
The Tree-Ducks
(Dendrocygna) number about ten species and enjoy a very wide, though mainly tropical, distribution. They have rather long necks and legs, short and rounded wings and short tail, and the plumage is either spotted and speckled or uniform with the different colors arranged in definite areas. In length they range from about sixteen to some twenty-four inches, and the sexes are very nearly alike. In habits they are mainly arboreal, perching readily on the limbs of trees, shrubs, or even stalks of corn. One of the most remarkable, at least as regards its distribution, is the Fulvous Tree-Duck (D.fulva), or Whistling Teal, as it, or its near ally, is called in India.
It is found from the southern border of the United States through Mexico, then skipping Central America and Amazonia, it ranges from Venezuela and Peru to Argentina. Thence, according to Salvadori and others, it is found from tropical Africa and Madagascar through the Indian peninsula to Burma; but it seems more than probable that the Old World form is distinct, in which case it should be known as the Dendrocygna major of Jerdon. It is also possible that the South American bird, which is brighter colored and larger, is subspecifically separable from the northern bird, but in any case the three forms are close, if not indeed identical, and it is as difficult to explain the geographical distribution of the three as of one. It has been suggested that the bird was originally a native of the Old World and was brought by slaves from Africa to America, but this is unsupported by any evidence.
The distribution of the true Tree-Duck (D. viduata) is also very strange, as at present accepted, being tropical South America and the West Indies, and tropical Africa and Madagascar, but here again is the possibility of two species being confounded. The remaining species of the genus are more limited in their distribution.
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