American Wigeon

Physical Features

The American Wigeon is a mid-sized dabbling duck that is able to fly rapidly with fairly deep wing beats, and apart from the teal they have the most erratic flight pattern. They are nicknamed ‘baldpate' as the males have a white stripe from the forehead to the middle of the top of their head, resembling a receding hairline. They have short bluish black-tipped bills, narrow wings, and moderately long, wedge-shaped tails. The hen has a gray head with a brownish-black crown while the adult drake has the distinct white crown and green head stripe. Their breast and sides are pinkish-brown with black under tail coverts and white flank feathers. The most recognizable feature in flight is the white rectangular shoulder patch of the drake, which is indistinct in the hen. The feet and legs of both sexes are blue-gray. Mature American Wigeons range in weight from 1.5 to 2 pounds and their average length is 19 to 20.5 inches. The immature resemble the adult females.

Habitat

American Wigeons like to spend the breeding season near shallow, freshwater wetlands such as sloughs, ponds, small lakes, marshes and rivers. They prefer nesting in areas with brush/grass cover near water. During winter, they can be found in freshwater marshes, rivers, lakes, impoundments, estuaries, saltwater bays and agricultural fields. Lacustrine and intertidal areas that have lots of submerged and emergent vegetation beside agricultural land are favored areas and they are frequented with high densities of American Wigeons. American Wigeons are common, widespread ducks that breed throughout North America excluding the extreme north of Canada and Alaska, the Interior West through Idaho, Colorado, the Dakotas, and Minnesota, as well as eastern Washington and Oregon.

Diet

The American Wigeon's diet is predominantly vegetation, especially young shoots, roots, and seeds. In agricultural areas waste grains are also an important food source. The wigeon's bill is more goose-like than that of most dabblers, which facilitates grazing. During the breeding season it is common for females and the young to eat many aquatic invertebrates, but wigeons are generally plant-eaters. American Wigeons use a variety of foraging strategies. They pick food from the surface of shallow wetlands, graze in open fields, or steal food from coots and diving ducks. This has earned them the tag of “poacher” or “robber” ducks. They are known to feed during day or nighttime.

Meat

Wigeons are the fifth most commonly harvested duck in the United States, behind mallards, green-winged teal, gadwalls, and wood ducks. They are harvested for their tasty meat and their beautiful mounts. American Wigeons have keen eyesight and fast, strong flying ability that make it challenging to hunt them.

Behavior

American Wigeons form pair bonds before they reach their wintering grounds and they will continue through the winter. They are considered to be late nesters with nest initiation starting around mid to late May. Their nests are usually made far away from water on dry land, in dense cover such as tall grass or low shrubs. As she continues laying eggs the hen adds more nest material and down to the nest. She will lay one egg a day and her clutch size can be anything between 3 – 12 eggs. Only the hen incubates the eggs, which will hatch after 22 – 25 days. The ducklings are able to walk and feed themselves immediately after hatching and the hen will lead her ducklings to water within 24 hours of hatching. The American Wigeon is a noisy species, and can often be identified by their distinctive calls. Males have a distinctive 'whee whee whew' whistle while the female's vocalization is a 'qua-ack.'

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