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email: 3 1However, rare and endemic species are inherently difficult to study and occupancy models 3 2 are especially useful in such cases. We conducted the first detection, non-detection survey for 3 3 the white winged duck in Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary, India to assess site occupancy 3 4and test habitat factors that explain its occupancy. We found that white winged duck 3 5 occupancy was low (0.27 ± 0.21 SE) and detection probability was 0.44 ± 0.30 SE. We found 3 6 that increasing tree richness and decreasing elevation increased species occupancy. Detection 3 7 probability was influenced by our effort in that detection increased with increasing number of 3 8 survey hours. Using two standard approaches, we estimated the optimal number of sites and 3 9 replicate surveys for future occupancy studies. We further present considerations for future 4 0 surveys. Considering the sporadic and fragmented information available, we recommend 4 1 long-term ecological research to better understand the present and future population trends of 4 2 the species.4 3