Field Guide to Birds of North America
Eurasian Wigeon
Eurasian Wigeon Variations
Related Birds
General
Eurasian Wigeon: Large dabbling duck with gray back and finely speckled gray flanks. Head is dark rufous-brown with buff crown and forehead; breast, neck and upper back are pale rufous brown and belly is white. Bill is blue-gray with black tip. Wings have white shoulder patches and green specula visible in flight. Female is orange washed gray-brown overall with heavy mottling and speckling; belly is white. Juvenile resembles female but is browner. Eclipse male resembles female but is much brighter rufous-brown and retains white shoulder patches.
Range and Habitat
Eurasian Wigeon: Breeds from Iceland, the British Isles, and Scandinavia east to eastern Siberia and Kamchatka, and south to northern Europe, central Russia, and northern China. Occasional winter visitor to the Pacific coast from southeastern Alaska to northern Baja California and the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Labrador and Newfoundland south to Florida and west to southern Texas. Preferred habitats include marshes, ponds, lakes, and tidal flats.
Voice Text
"whee-oo", "chreep"
Interesting Facts
- The Eurasian Wigeon is unorthodox in its feeding habits: It spends much of its time grazing on land like a goose and also loiters around feeding flocks of diving ducks, snatching food from them when they bob back to the surface.
- They are known to breed only in Europe and Asia, although they are likely to be found breeding in North America eventually.
- Their numbers in North America have increased in recent decades, which may be due to increased reporting, or to an actual increase of birds. Hybrids with American Wigeons have been recorded.
- A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.
Author
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Family
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Species
Anas penelope
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Length18 - 20
Inches
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Wingspan31
Inches
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Eurasian Wigeon
Eurasian Wigeon: Large dabbling duck with gray back and finely speckled gray flanks. Head is dark rufous-brown with buff crown and forehead; breast, neck and upper back are pale rufous brown, belly is white. Wings have white shoulder patches and green specula visible in flight. Gray legs, feet.
● Song: "whee-oo", "chreep"
● Foraging & Feeding: Eurasian Wigeon: Feeds primarily on pondweeds, eelgrass, other aquatic plants, and grass; forages in shallow water, fields, and meadows.
● Breeding & nesting: Eurasian Wigeon: Seven to nine creamy white to pale buff eggs are laid in a ground depression lined with grass and down, usually built near water, and hidden in tall grass. Female incubates eggs for 24 to 25 days; young fly at 60 to 70 days.
● Similar species: Eurasian Wigeon: American Wigeon has gray head with thick green eye mask extending down neck.
Flight Pattern
Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
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BreedingMonogamous, Semicolonial
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PopulationRare to uncommon
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MigrationMigratory
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Weight28.8
Ounces
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