Date: 6/22/26 6:45 am From: Dena Temple <denatemple...> Subject: Re: [NFLbirds] Odd Duck
I asked Google AI your question. Here is the reply:
Black-bellied whistling ducks are highly opportunistic omnivores. While
their staple diet consists of grasses, aquatic vegetation, and grains, they
also regularly consume available fruits, berries, and even agricultural
crops.
On Sun, Jun 21, 2026 at 10:05 AM Don Morrow <donaldcmorrow...> wrote:
> I was walking along a road at the Alford Greenway, this morning, when I
> noticed black cherries on the ground and looked up to see if any birds were
> feeding on the cherries.
>
> There was a Black-bellied Whistling Duck sitting in the cherry tree.
>
> This tree was on the Northern edge of a large field. Lake Piney Z, where
> any self-respecting whistling duck would be feeding, was about a quarter
> mile to the South. The closely related West Indian Whistling Duck eats a
> lot of tree fruit and I found one reference to BBWDs eating tree fruit in
> South America, but every other reference that I find has them foraging for
> seeds in marshes and agricultural fields, which is where I typically see
> them feeding.
>
> I watched this duck for twenty minutes and it did not try to feed on the
> ripe black cherries. However, I often find that birds are reticent to feed
> after they have been noticed and I had been twenty feet from this bird when
> I first noticed it. BBWDs are cavity nesters, but this tree was not big
> enough for a cavity and it was a long way from the water.
>
> Has anybody ever noticed BBWDs eating tree fruits?
>
>
>
>
>
>
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