Rare vagrant. Sightings at Weipa Sewerage Farm in March - April 1995 and December 1995. More recently flocks have been sighted in coastal swamps of eastern Cape York, where it may be breeding.
Habitat
Coastal swamps, watercourses and mangroves, usually in flocks.
Spotted Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna) [XC439630]
by Marc Anderson from Twelve Mile Lagoon, Lakefield National Park, Queensland, Australia (call)
Spotted Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna guttata) [XC388886]
by Bas van Balen from Timika, Freeport, Mimika, Papua, Papua New Guinea (flight call, water lapping)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not normally breed in Australia. Seems to be regular and breeding at Weipa, and possibly Coen, Qld.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
BirdLife International Species Factsheet