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Wigeon

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

                 iEurasian Wigeon
   Male wigeon
   Male wigeon

                             Conservation status

   Least Concern (LC)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Aves
   Order:   Anseriformes
   Family:  Anatidae
   Genus:   Anas
   Species: A. penelope

                                Binomial name

   Anas penelope
   Linnaeus, 1758

   The Wigeon or Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope) is a common and
   widespread duck.

Description

   This dabbling duck is 42-50 cm long with a 71-80 cm wingspan. The
   breeding male has grey flanks and back, with a black rear end and a
   brilliant white speculum, obvious in flight or at rest. It has a pink
   breast, white belly, and a chestnut head with a yellowish crown stripe.
   In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the drake looks more like the
   female.The female is light brown, with plumage much like a female
   Mallard. It can be distinguished from most other ducks, apart from
   American Wigeon, on shape. However, that species has a paler head and
   white axillaries on its underwing.

Distribution

   It breeds in the northernmost areas of Europe and Asia. It is the Old
   World counterpart of the North American American Wigeon. It is strongly
   migratory and winters further south than its breeding range. In Great
   Britain the Wigeon is common as a winter visitor, but scarce as a
   breeding bird in Scotland, the Lake District, the Pennines and
   occasionally further south. It can be found as an uncommon winter
   visitor in the United States, particularly on both the Atlantic and
   Pacific coasts.

Behaviour and Habitat

   The Wigeon is a bird of open wetlands, such as wet grassland or marshes
   with some taller vegetation, and usually feeds by dabbling for plant
   food or grazing, which it does very readily. It nests on the ground,
   near water and under cover. It is highly gregarious outside of the
   breeding season and will form large flocks.

   This is a noisy species. The male has a clear whistle, whereas the
   female has a low growl.

   The Wigeon is one of the species to which the Agreement on the
   Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds ( AEWA) applies.

Photo gallery

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wigeon"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
