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Eurasian Wigeon | Mareca penelope
Smient | Silbón europeo
The Eurasian Wigeon is a Eurasian dabbling duck that also winters in small numbers in North America. In the guide area it is a scarce winter visitor to north-western Mexico, where it almost always turns up among flocks of American Wigeon. Further south it is exceptional.
Voice
The male gives a piercing, two-toned whistle, whee-oo; the female a hoarse, growling krr. Among the three-note whistles of American Wigeon the call of a Eurasian Wigeon stands out.
Recording: Sjouke Scholten — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
42–52 cm, compact, with a rounded head, a short blue-grey bill with a black tip and a pointed tail. The male has a chestnut head with a creamy-yellow blaze from bill to crown, a pinkish breast, a finely vermiculated grey body and a black rear end with a white patch in front of it. The female is reddish-brown to greyish-brown, with a plain, warm brown head. In flight the male shows a large white patch on the forewing; the axillaries are grey and mottled in both sexes.
Confusion species
American Wigeon Mareca americana is the species among which it almost always turns up in the guide area. Its male has a grey head with a white crown and a green band behind the eye, and cinnamon flanks. In females the head of Eurasian Wigeon is warmer brown and contrasts less with the breast, and the axillaries are grey instead of bright white. Hybrids between the two species occur and often have a rufous head with a green sheen behind the eye.
Habitat
Shallow freshwater lakes, reservoirs, ponds and brackish lagoons, and wet grassland and lawns by the water, where wigeon graze in flocks.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of Mexico and Central America.
Range and movements
A scarce winter visitor to north-western Mexico, mainly in Baja California and Baja California Sur, further in Sonora and Chihuahua; exceptional further south in Mexico and in Central America. Breeds in northern Eurasia and winters in Europe, North Africa and southern Asia; in North America a scarce but regular winter visitor along both coasts.
- Winter visitor (c. Oct–Mar)
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Large flocks of American Wigeon on lakes and lagoons in Baja California and Sonora are the place to look for a Eurasian Wigeon; a male with a rufous head is the first to stand out. Females can only be identified with certainty with a good view of the head and axillaries.
Conservation status
Not threatened globally. In the guide area a scarce winter visitor in small numbers; there is no evidence of a trend.
Scientific name
Mareca penelope | (Linnaeus, 1758)
Linnaeus described the species in 1758 as Anas Penelope; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Mareca was introduced in 1824 by Stephens. Mareca comes from the Portuguese marreco, a word for a small duck. penelope refers to the duck said in Greek tradition to have saved Penelope when she was thrown into the sea; her name is from pene 'thread' and ops 'appearance', after the weaving ruse with which she kept her suitors at bay. The specimen the first description was based on came from Sweden.