American Wigeon
American Wigeon
Mareca americana
At a Glance
While most dabbling ducks are denizens of the shallows, American Wigeon spend much of their time in flocks grazing on land. Paradoxically, they also spend more time than other marsh ducks on deep water, where they get much of their food by stealing it from other birds such as coots or diving ducks. This duck was once known as 'Baldpate' because of its white crown.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Duck-like Birds, Surface Feeding Ducks
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Coasts and Shorelines, Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Freshwater Wetlands, Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers, Saltwater Wetlands, Tundra and Boreal Habitats
Region
Alaska and The North, California, Eastern Canada, Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Northwest, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Southwest, Texas, Western Canada
Behavior
Direct Flight, Erratic, Swimming
Population
2.700.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Migrates in flocks, and may travel mostly by day. In summer, when males leave their mates, they may fly great distances to large open marshes where they will stay while going through the flightless stage of their molt. In western U.S., southward migration seems to be gradual, with numbers in southern California not reaching peak until December or January.
Description
18-23" (46-58 cm). Male has white crown stripe, green ear patch on gray head; pink chest and sides. (In early fall, male may be plainer, more rust-colored.) Big white wing patches show in flight. Female has gray head contrasting with more pinkish body. Note rather small blue-gray bill.
Size
About the size of a Crow, About the size of a Mallard or Herring Gull
Color
Black, Brown, Gray, Green, Orange, Red, Tan, White
Wing Shape
Pointed, Tapered
Tail Shape
Pointed, Short, Wedge-shaped
Songs and Calls
Distinctive whistled whew-whee-whew; also quacks.
Call Pattern
Flat, Undulating
Call Type
Chatter, Croak/Quack, Raucous, Whistle
Habitat
Marshes, lakes, bays, fields. In summer mainly on inland marshes, especially larger marshes, not often at small ponds. In migration and winter on coastal estuaries, fresh or salt marshes, inland lakes and ponds. May winter on large deep lakes.
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Behavior
Eggs
8-11, sometimes 5-12. Whitish. Incubation is by female only, 23-24 days. Male usually departs before eggs hatch.
Young
Leave nest shortly after hatching, feed themselves. Female remains with brood for much of their pre-flight stage. Young capable of flight 45-63 days after hatching.
Feeding Behavior
Versatile in foraging. Flocks often feed on land; feed in shallow water, taking items from surface or submerging head and neck; also associates with diving birds on deeper water, robbing them of their food when they come to the surface. May feed by day or night.
Diet
Mostly plant material. Eats aquatic plants such as pondweeds, sedges, wild celery, eelgrass, algae. Also eats some insects and snails. On land, grazes on young grass shoots, and consumes seeds and waste grains. Very young ducklings eat many insects.
Nesting
Pair formation begins on wintering grounds; most older birds paired before spring migration. Several males often court one female. In one display, male extends neck forward with head low, bill open, while raising tips of folded wings, revealing white wing patches. Tends to begin nesting later in season than most dabblers. Nest site on dry land, sometimes on island, usually within 100' of water but sometimes up to 1/2 mile away; site concealed by tall vegetation. Nest (built by female) is shallow depression filled with grasses and weeds, lined with down.
Conservation
Conservation Status
Apparently stable. Since about the 1930s the breeding range has expanded eastward somewhat in eastern Canada and the northeastern states.
Climate Threats Facing the American Wigeon
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.