The Whistling-Ducks (Subfamily Dendrocygninae) are very similar in appearance to small ducks. Although it is rather easy to tell them apart once they come ashore because they stand more erect than the ducks. Also the Whistling-Ducks have longer legs and shorter tail than most ducks their size.

The eight living species of Whistling-Ducks are natural to the tropical regions in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Some of the species inhabit more than one of these continents, while others have a distribution restricted to a few islands.

Peculiar within the duck's family is that some of the species in this group spend a great deal of time resting on the branches of trees.