American Wigeon

Anas americana

Order ANSERIFORMES - Family ANATIDAE - Subfamily Anatinae

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A common and increasingly abundant duck, the American Wigeon breeds in northwestern North America and is found throughout the rest of the continent in migration and in winter. Its small bill and the male's white forehead, as well as certain aspects of nesting and feeding behavior, distinguish this species from other dabbling ducks.

Cool Facts

• The American Wigeon was formerly known as "Baldpate" because the white stripe resembled a bald man's head.
• The American Wigeon is a rare, but regular straggler to Europe where it turns up in flocks of Eurasian Wigeon.

• The American Wigeon's short bill enables it to exert more force at the bill tip than other dabbling ducks, thus permitting efficient dislodging and plucking of vegetation.

• The America Wigeon is the dabbling duck most likely to leave water and graze on vegetation in fields. However, feeding in fields on grain, such as corn, is rather rare.

• The American Wigeon's diet has a higher proportion of plant matter than the diet of any other dabbling duck.

Description

• Size: 42-59 cm (17-23 in)
• Wingspan: 84 cm (33 in)
• Weight: 540-1330 g (19.06-46.95 ounces)

• Medium-sized duck.
• Male with white crown.
• Green face patch.
• Large white patch in wings.
• Black rear end bordered by white.

Sex Differences

Male brightly patterned with white flanks and white crown stripe; female dull gray and rusty brown.

Male

Breeding (Alternate) Plumage: White or cream-colored forehead and forecrown and broad dark-green patch extending from behind eye to nape. Bill is bluish-gray with black tip. Cheeks and chin grayish. Breast, sides, and back are pinkish-brown. Rear flanks show a white patch; undertail coverts are black.
Eclipse (Basic) Plumage: Variable amounts of white and green on head. Undertail coverts are variably black, with some white. In all plumages, male shows white patch on upper wing, and dark-green speculum.

Female

Head appears grayish overall, with finely-blended white and dusky streaks. Breast and flanks are pale reddish-brown; mantle is grayish-brown with some buff barring. Bill is small and grayish, with a black tip.

Immature

Similar to adult female.

Similar Species

• Eurasian Wigeon is closely related and very similar. Breeding male Eurasian Wigeon has dark rufous head and buffy forehead, with no green stripe, and grayish flanks and back. Female, eclipse male, and immature very difficult to distinguish; the best mark is the color of the axillaries ("armpits"), which are gray on Eurasian Wigeon and white on American Wigeon.

Sound

High squeaky whistle, resembling squeaky toy. Female quacks.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds across Alaska and Canada, southward to northern tier of United States.

Winter Range

Winters from southern Alaska and British Columbia along Pacific coast to Baja California, and from southern United States southward to northern South America.

Habitat

Shallow freshwater wetlands, including ponds, marshes, and rivers.

Food

Aquatic plants; some insects and mollusks during the breeding season.

Behavior

Foraging

Feeds on vegetation at and just below surface. Submerges head and tips tail up to reach plants under surface.

Displays

American Wigeon courtship displays include tail-wagging, head-turning, wing-flapping, and sudden jumps out of the water.

Reproduction

Nest Type

A depression on the ground, lined with grasses and down. Nest is located in tall grass or shrubs, often far from water.

Egg Description

Creamy white.

Clutch Size

Usually 3-12 eggs. Range: 3-13.

Condition at Hatching

Covered in down and able to leave the nest soon after hatching.

Conservation Status

Populations declined by approximately 50 percent in the 1980s as a result of extended drought in prairie regions, but have since largely recovered. Widely hunted in the United States in fall, subject to federal limits.

Other Names

Canard d'Amerique (French)
Pato chalcuán, Pato americano (Spanish)
Baldpate, American Widgeon (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Mowbray, T. 1999. American Wigeon (Anas americana). In The Birds of North America, No. 401 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.