Wednesday, 18 January 2017

Wild Bird Wednesday 234 - Plumed Whistling-duck

Any of you who have followed at my blog for a while now cannot have escaped noticing that I rather like ducks.  To misquote Winnie the Pooh, nobody can be uncherred by a duck.

These ducks are Plumed Whistling-ducks, which were great to see and made even better by the golden hour light in which they were standing. They are most common in the north of Australia, but they do get further south - especially after heavy rains.

Its scientific name is Dendrocygna eytoni, which means Eyton's Tree-Swan - with Mr. Eton being a famous English ornithologist.  (Who I have never heard of!)





I rather like the picture with the duck looking up to the sky - either looking for predators or expressing despair at the number of photographers about.

Most of you will know what to do now - click on the blue button and off you go.


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26 comments:

  1. Rhodesia18 January 2017 at 03:44

    They are pretty bids, well done. Cheers Diane

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  2. Author R. Mac Wheeler18 January 2017 at 03:48

    uncheered...good word

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  3. Hootin Anni18 January 2017 at 04:08

    They resemble USA's Fulvous Whistling Ducks. Great images Stewart

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  4. Brian King18 January 2017 at 04:26

    Beautiful ducks! I like their muted plumage.

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  5. Coloring Outside the Lines18 January 2017 at 05:45

    Neat ducks- they remind me a bit of Tex's whistlers.

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  6. Kenneth Cole Schneider18 January 2017 at 06:20

    Nice images. So readily identified as tree-ducks by their shape. Change the plumage pattern and they look just like the two species we have here in Florida. Poor Mr Eton had the spelling of his name changed to accommodate the taxonomists. On my college diploma my name Latin name for Kenneth was Cynathium (to make up for the lack of a "K" in Latin?) I have no idea of the etymology of that word. The Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et Britannicae defines as follows: "Cynæthium, A citie in Archadie."

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  7. NatureFootstep18 January 2017 at 08:23

    I have this duck and will probably post it soon :) It is lovely, maybe we were at the same place. Musgrave?

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  8. eileeninmd18 January 2017 at 09:29

    Hello Stewart,They are pretty ducks. Great sighting and captures! Thanks for hosting Have a happy week!

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  9. Amy at Ms. Toody Goo Shoes18 January 2017 at 12:35

    Beautiful! Love the reflection in the water.

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  10. Jo18 January 2017 at 16:24

    Hi Stewart, since leaving my previous home in the Free State, I don't see many ducks (need to get to the local dams) Thanks for sharing these beauties. Today I've added an interesting bird which I almost mis-identified! Thanks for hosting this meme. Have a great day. Jo

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  11. Anu18 January 2017 at 16:44

    Great photos. They look very beautiful ducks.

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  12. TheChieftess18 January 2017 at 17:07

    If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it must be a duck!!! They're such cute ducks! Their legs look longer, and their necks look longer than ducks I'm familiar with...but they look like ducks!!!

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  13. Bob Bushell18 January 2017 at 20:38

    The Plumed Whistling-ducks are the most beautiful birds, I love them.

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  14. photodoug19 January 2017 at 01:34

    Stewart, pleasant plumage. Thanks for sharing

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  15. David M. Gascoigne,19 January 2017 at 03:48

    It's interesting that the Latin name translates to Tree Swan, since this family of ducks was formerly know as tree ducks.

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  16. A Colorful World19 January 2017 at 05:23

    They are wonderful ducks, Stewart!

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  17. A Colorful World19 January 2017 at 05:26

    Just saw your comment about having some issues with finding your blogger friends as well. I tried to remove Google+ altogether by going on my Google+ page, scrolling down to the bottom of the Settings page where I found "Remove Google+" and I clicked on it, but I'm pretty sure it's still there! Very annoying!

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  18. Andrea @ From The Sol19 January 2017 at 06:16

    Well they are awesome ... do they really whistle? We have Whistling ducks in the south, but I have never had the privilege of running across them. They are not, however, Plumed. So I guess our whistling ducks aren't as lucky as yours not being plumed and all. Australia just has all the luck (even your politics are tolerable, right? Or at very least more tolerable than ours :( ). Have a great week, Stewart ...

    Andrea @ From the Sol

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  19. Anonymous19 January 2017 at 07:15

    What a beautiful creature, Stewart...elegant in appearance and intelligent too...definitely watching for predators...:)JP

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  20. Dave19 January 2017 at 10:12

    Oh those duck photos always quack me up!
    Or should I say...those are some quack shots you got there Stewart!

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  21. This N That19 January 2017 at 11:00

    I too, like ducks..I miss my Mallards that nested by my old house for seven years..then I moved..Handsome Ducks..like their long necks..Wonderful pictures..I may have some birdies to share next week..

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  22. Linda19 January 2017 at 15:09

    I like ducks, although I don't see the whistling ones around here. But what does Pooh mean by uncherred?

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  23. Vineeta Yashsavi19 January 2017 at 19:55

    This is beautiful...

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  24. Lady Fi20 January 2017 at 01:43

    What lovely shots!

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  25. Mary Howell Cromer20 January 2017 at 09:37

    These are beautiful images. I have only seen them down in Florida two years ago and they really are lovely birds. In two weeks I will be heading down that way again. Have a great weekend~

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  26. Inspired By June20 January 2017 at 14:18

    The lovely golden glow sets these ducks off perfectly - well captured, Stewart!

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