aquatic plants, and small fish. These ducks obtain their food by dabbling and diving. The ducks dabble at the surface of the ponds, filtering the water through their bills. The birds bounce on the surface to enter the water headfirst, after being underwater for a maximum of 15 seconds they emerge with another bounce. Scientists never observed food in the bill after the diving behavior. They concluded the birds consume the food while underwater. (Beruldsen) The majority of feeding occurs at night. Breeding The genus Dendrocygna has strong pair bonds. Male and female birds are visually similar, females are slightly heavier than males. Without weighing the bird sex is difficult to determine. Breeding season begins in September with active nests found as late as April. Their nests are found in hollowed-out trees. Both parents participate in nest building at the same time. One pair can have several clutches a year consisting of 10-11 eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs for 18-31 days and when hatched the chick weighs 17.5g. In captivity, the chicks fledged at 7 weeks, yet in the wild scientists have observed chicks flying at 45-50 days old. The spotted whistling duck has a breeding system described as ‘primitive,’ which is consistent with other basal groups in Anseriformes. Behavior Spotted whistling ducks are found in groups with their own species and often with D. arcata. Compared to others in the genus, these ducks are less vocal. These birds perch on tree branches in groups slightly smaller than flocks. The flocks are often a mix of adults and juveniles. The adults shepard the juveniles keeping them close to the group. In 2000 Beruldsen observed a group consisting of 6 juveniles and two adults, male and female. The juveniles seemed unbothered by the human presence, but the adults made sure there was distance between Buruldsen and the juveniles. The birds kept their distance but seemed to be unaffected. The adult male positioned himself between the juveniles and the humans, protecting the other birds. This behavior was often accompanied by several high-pitched ticking calls. Threats The spotted whistling duck is listed as least concern. Their population is stable with populations ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 birds. In captivity they were found to be specifically susceptible to avian tuberculous. Twenty-seven percent of bird species get avian tuberculosis and the disease is usually fatal. Spotted whistling ducks die at a higher rate than