About the Cover…
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis)
Photos courtesy Betsy Cross
Betsy Cross
If you hear a clear, high-pitched, repeating whistle overhead on a warm evening in Hays County, look up. It may be a pair of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks passing by.
Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks often perch in trees or rest on low snags above water, such as the one pictured in this month’s cover photo. With long pink legs, a bright coral bill, a rich chestnut body, and a distinctive black belly, this duck doesn’t resemble any of our other typical waterfowl.
In flight, bold white wing patches flash against dark wings, making them easy to identify, even at a distance.
They are social birds, frequently seen in loose flocks. Their whistling calls—often given in flight—help keep family groups connected. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks may mate for life and most often nests in tree cavities. But they will also nest on the ground in dense low growth near water, and many now use nest boxes. Audubon.org.
From All About Birds: “They look most like ducks, but their lack of sexual dimorphism, relatively long-term pair bonds, and lack of complex pair-forming behavior more resembles geese and swans.”
Along the creek at Brazos Bend State Park in Fort Bend County, Texas, a Great Egret appears to be presiding over an attentive audience of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks in the shadows.
Once considered primarily a South Texas and coastal species, they have steadily expanded northward over the past several decades and are now regular residents in Central Texas. Their presence in ponds, wetlands, and even neighborhood retention basins is a reminder of how adaptable some species can be when suitable habitat is available.
Listen for their whistle at dusk. It may just become one of the signature sounds of a Hill Country summer.
For additional photos of this duck species, see About the Cover by Mike Davis in the July 2025 Hays Humm, featuring a pair of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks with their five young ducklings at Plum Creek in Kyle, Texas.