American Wigeon
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| American Wigeon Conservation status: Lower risk (lc) | ||||||||||||||
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| Anas americana Gmelin, 1789 |
The American Wigeon or Baldpate (Anas americana) is a common and widespread duck which breeds in the northernmost areas of North America: in Canada in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, Alaska, and the Northwest Territories and the Great Lakes. It is the New World counterpart of the European Wigeon.
This dabbling duck is strongly migratory and winters further south than its breeding range as south as in Texas and Louisiana coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It is a rare but regular vagrant to western Europe. It is highly gregarious outside of the breeding season and will form large flocks.
The breeding male has pinkish flanks and breast back, with a black rear end and a brilliant white speculum, obvious in flight or at rest. It has a greyish head with a green eye patch and a whitish crown stripe. It is 18-23" long.
The females are light brown, with plumage much like a female Mallard. They can be distinguished from most ducks, apart from European Wigeon on shape. However, that species has a darker head and all grey underwing.
In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the drake looks more like the female.
It is a bird of open wetlands, such as wet grassland or marshes with some taller vegetation, and usually feeds by dabbling for plant food or grazing, which it does very readily. It nests on the ground, near water and under cover. It lays 6-12 creamy white eggs.
This is a noisy species. The male has a clear whistle in three syllabbnlees: whoee-whoe-whoe, whereas the female has a low growl qua-ack.
