Eyton Whistling Ducks: Dendrocygna eytoni.
Also referred to as Plumed whistling ducks. Originating from Australia. They inhabit swamps and rivers. Whistlers are in books consisdered nocturnal but I have found them to be active birds that are constantly inroled in activity. I find them very vain and can be garunteed to be preening near water. They are considered rare in captivity and hard to breed.
Eytons have very long yellow flank feathers which form sharpe tips boarded by black. The bills are pale red with black spotting on. Apparently the males carry fuller flank feathers and less spotting on the bill.
My first breed of wildfowl. Occurring accidentally by picking up a male. I was then given a female as a birthday present from Jane Anderson and a year later hatched my first wildfowl. This resulted in another pair of Eytons bringing my flock upto 4.
Eggs are near round and large. The clutch consists of 12 or so eggs which hatch after about 28 days of incubation. The ducklings are small with long thin necks, short bodies and long legs.
An interesting fact with Whistling Ducks is that they have 17 cervical vertebrae as apposed to 7 in most domestic mammals. They resemble swans and geese in structure and shape .
