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Garganey

Anas querquedulaOrder: ANSERIFORMESFamily: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)

Garganey Male Portrait
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General

Garganey: Small, strikingly patterned dabbling duck with black-streaked, gray upperparts, chestnut-brown mottled face and breast, and pale gray flanks. White stripe above eye and running down neck is distinctly visible. Wings have pale blue shoulder patches and dark green speculum with white borders visible in flight. Female resembles female Blue-winged Teal, but is paler brown, has pale gray shoulder patches, and blue-green speculum with white borders. Rare visitor to Alaska.

Range and Habitat

Garganey: Native of Eurasia; breeds locally from Britain and France to central Europe, north to southern Sweden and more continuously from eastern Europe into Russia. Regular migrant in west and central Aleutians and other Alaskan islands. Preferred habitats include shallow freshwater lakes and marshes with abundant marginal vegetation.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

No data available.

Interesting Facts

 The Garganey was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 under its current scientific name.

 These birds feed mainly by skimming rather than upending.

 A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Garganey
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Surface-feeding Duck (Anatidae)_blue
Species Anas querquedula
Length14 - 16 Inches
Wingspan24 Inches

Garganey

Garganey: Small dabbling duck with black-streaked, gray upperparts, chestnut-brown mottled face and breast, pale gray flanks. White stripe above eye, running down neck is highly visible. Wings have pale blue shoulder patches and dark green speculum with white borders visible in flight.

● Song: No data available.

● Foraging & Feeding: Garganey: Feeds on aquatic plants, insects, crustaceans, and mollusks; forages by dabbling in shallow water.

● Breeding & nesting: Garganey: Seven to twelve creamy yellow to light olive eggs are laid in a ground nest made of grass and plant materials, lined with down, and hidden in tall grass or under a shrub. Incubation ranges from 21 to 23 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Garganey: Blue-winged teal lacks thick, white eyebrow, distinct white speculum borders, and has darker underparts.

Flight Pattern

Fast direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Garganey Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Garganey: Native of Eurasia; breeds locally from Britain and France to central Europe, north to southern Sweden and more continuously from eastern Europe into Russia. Regular migrant in west and central Aleutians and other Alaskan islands. Preferred habitats include shallow freshwater lakes and marshes with abundant marginal vegetation.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationCasual to accidential on northwest coast
MigrationMigratory
Weight11.5 Ounces