Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are medium-sized waterfowl distinguished by long pink legs and bill, chestnut head and neck, white eye-ring, warm brown upperparts and striking black belly. In Arizona, they occur primarily in the southeastern corner of the state—most notably at Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area (Cochise County), along the San Pedro River near Benson, and in the Sulphur Springs Valley—where they were first documented nesting in 1990 and have since become a locally regular summer resident.
These whistling-ducks favor shallow freshwater marshes, irrigation canals, stock ponds and agricultural impoundments. They nest in tree cavities or man-made nest boxes placed near water, laying 10–12 creamy white eggs. Outside the breeding season, flocks deposit widely in nearby agricultural fields to graze on grains and grass seeds. Although most depart for Mexico by autumn, small numbers occasionally overwinter in mild winters, making them one of Arizona’s more charismatic and visible expanding waterfowl species.
