Its white face, long neck, and long legs stand out, and it gives a high-pitched whistle. It gathers in wetland flocks and feeds on insects and plants from mud and shallow water.
It has a white face and a longer neck and legs than other ducks. Its call sounds like a high-pitched, three-note whistle.
The White-faced Whistling Duck is widespread in parts of Africa and South America but is an exceptional visitor to North Africa. On 25 August 2025, one adult was recorded at Kroom Alkhayl, about 12 kilometres west of Tobruk in eastern Libya. It was the country’s second record and the first from its eastern region.
The bird was feeding when observed and was later shot by a hunter; photographs documented its black head and neck, contrasting white face and long grey bill. The site was a coastal cultivated area. The authors describe coastal wetlands as important for regional birds and call for continued monitoring.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The eastern Libya report is a single observation. Its authors identify coastal natural and artificial wetlands as important for regional birds and call for continued monitoring to establish whether the duck remains a rare visitor or appears more regularly.