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The White-faced whistling duck (Dendrocygna viduata) is a bird found in South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Kenya. Wetlands across Africa and South America. It eats leaves and other plant parts, insects and other small invertebrates and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the White-faced whistling duck lives

Wetlands across Africa and South America.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🌿 Leaves & plants40%
• 🐛 Insects & bugs30%
• 🌰 Seeds & nuts20%
• 🍎 Fruit10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the White-faced whistling duck

Recorded by Jonathan Onongo (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1083140. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the White-faced whistling duck

Where does the White-faced whistling duck live?

The White-faced whistling duck lives in South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Kenya. Wetlands across Africa and South America.

What does the White-faced whistling duck eat?

leaves and other plant parts (about 40%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 30%), seeds and nuts (about 20%), fruit (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the White-faced whistling duck endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Africa

• Sakalava Rail
• Bernier's teal
• Amani sunbird
• Sokoke pipit
• Humblot's heron
• Long-billed forest warbler

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.