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Southeast Asia’s white-winged duck at critical threat of extinction
Once a familiar sight in wetlands across the archipelago, the iconic duck known as ‘mentok rimba’ is disappearing fast, driven largely by habitat loss and hunting.
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All by myself: An adult ‘mentok rimba’, or white-winged duck, stands in a shallow pond at Way Kambas National Park in Lampung, in this undated photo. Upgraded to critically endangered status last year on the IUCN Red List, the iconic Southeast Asian bird species now survives in a handful of remaining habitats in Indonesia, India, northern Myanmar and western Thailand. (Way Kambas National Park/Dicky Tri Sutanto) (Way Kambas National Park/Dicky Tri Sutanto)
Nur Janti
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Habitat loss from land conversion and illegal hunting has pushed the white-winged duck (Asarcornis scutulata), locally known as mentok rimba, into “critically endangered” status due to a rapid decline in the bird’s estimated population, according to this year’s Status Burung di Indonesia (Status of birds in Indonesia) report by a local NGO.
The white-winged duck is native to Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand, inhabiting evergreen wetlands and swamp forests where it roosts and nests.
It has a black body and a white head, and its English name is derived from the distinctive patches on its wings. One of the largest duck species, the white-winged duck measures between 66 and 81 centimeters from head to tail and has a wingspan of 116-153 cm. Adult males weigh between 2.94 and 3.9 kilograms, while adult females weigh 1.95-3.05 kg.
Following an assessment in July 2024, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reclassified Asarcornis scutulata from endangered to critically endangered, citing a “precipitous decline” and severe fragmentation in population.
BirdLife International, the official source of ornithological information for the IUCN, estimates that only 30 to 60 mature white-winged ducks remain across Sumatra. This places it among the 30 bird species classified as critically endangered in this year's IUCN Red List.
