Hi all,

 

Some friends of mine stopped by the Mount Vernon site that is hosting
the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, and photographed another species of
waterfowl that they were unfamiliar with. They sent along the photos,
and it turns out to be a Ringed Teal, Calloneta leucophrys, which is
indigenous to South America, but is at least fairly common in captivity.
It's a striking looking animal, with chestnut wings, pale salmon-colored
breast dotted with black, dark crown stripe, and conspicuous white hip
patches at the rear of the bird. You may see this bird if you visit the
site.

 

I would say the appearance of this Ringed Teal casts a shadow on the
likelihood of the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck being a bona fide wild
vagrant. The whistling-duck, like the teal, is fairly common in
captivity, and the fact that both of these species would appear
simultaneously at the same site has to trigger thoughts about their
origin. I don't think anyone is going to try and make a case for the
Ringed Teal being a wild bird - there are no North American records - it
is certainly an escapee.

 

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are expanding their range and do show up
at northern latitudes such as Ohio apparently under their own steam, but
this species is also frequently kept in captivity. There are a
surprising number of waterfowl breeders dotting the landscape, and they
sell and trade all manner of species. I was once surprised to come
across some Hawaiian (Nene) Geese in someone's yard in eastern Ohio.
They also had Eurasian Wigeon, Tufted Ducks and other species that are
routinely considered to be wild when found in North America. I've run
across a number of other similar operations, and a quick google search
of appropriate keywords will quickly reveal the scale and diversity of
captive waterfowl.

 

Don't mean to rain on anyone's Black-bellied Whistling-Duck parade, but
the appearance of the Ringed Teal makes me very suspicious of its
origins.

 

Jim

 

Jim McCormac

Columbus, Ohio

 


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