SINCE 1828
West Indian whistling-duck
noun
variants:
or West Indian whistling duck
or less commonly West Indian tree duck
Definition of West Indian whistling-duck
: a large, secretive, chiefly brown whistling-duck (Dendrocygna arborea) of the West Indies that is usually active in the evening or early morning
The West Indian whistling-duck … is a Caribbean endemic species that is considered endangered throughout its range. — Wendy A. Lee, in The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taíno, 2006 The only duck that breeds in the Cayman Islands is the long-legged West Indian whistling duck … which resembles a goose.— Paris Permenter and John Bigley, Adventure Guide to the Cayman Islands, 2008 Rare West Indian tree ducks … and the largest bird sanctuary in the Caribbean attest to our dedication to wildlife preservation. — Lionel A. Hurst, in New York Times, 10 May 1989
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