entry smap 250: Lesser Whistling Duck

it's not every year we get to see these wonderful Whistling Ducks. it's not that this particular species: Dendrocygna javanica whistles any less than it's cousins, but rather it's just a little smaller than the others. they all whistle and make quite a lot of noise doing so, hence the name is otherwise suited. i took this photo in Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur, India but some years we can see (and hear) them locally in coastal southern Maharastra. they are not migratory but rather residents in India though they move about for breeding and during the different seasons. while the other birds in the marsh are busy feeding during they day, lesser whistling ducks wait until it's dark, when they both dabble and dive for a wide variety of plants and small fish, frogs and such.