American Wigeon

Fascinating facts about the American Wigeon

• A single clutch holds 7-9 creamy eggs, each averaging 52.9 mm × 37.5 mm and weighing 43 g, which the female incubates alone for 23-25 days. The hatchlings are precocial, leaving the nest within 24 hours and feeding themselves, and they take about 47 days to achieve flight.
• In 2009, an estimated 2.5 million breeding American wigeons were counted, a figure just shy of the long-term 1955-2009 average. Though the species is listed as Least Concern, recent surveys show declines in Canada's Prairie Pothole Region while numbers rise on Alaska's interior and west coast.
• The American wigeon's diet is almost entirely plant-based: it dabbles for aquatic vegetation, grazes on pasture grasses, and even raids harvested fields for waste grain, winter wheat, clover, and lettuce. This flexibility lets it migrate south before northern marshes freeze, exploiting both water and dry-land food sources. Its willingness to feed alongside coots and divers also earns it the nickname "poacher" duck, highlighting its opportunistic foraging strategy.
• At just 42-59 cm long with a 76-91 cm wingspan and a weight ranging from 512 g to 1,330 g, the American wigeon packs the size of a small dog into a duck's silhouette. Its medium build across the vast boreal wetlands where it breeds.
• Male American wigeons announce their presence with a three-note whistle, while females emit hoarse grunts and quacks, Outside the breeding season they become highly gregarious, forming massive flocks.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the American Wigeon

As the American Wigeon glides effortlessly across the tranquil wetlands, its sleek, gray-brown plumage glistens in the soft light, like the gentle lapping of the water's edge. With each subtle tilt of its head, the wigeon's bright, inquisitive eyes scan the surroundings, drinking in the secrets of its aquatic realm, where it forages with precision and ease. In the midst of this serene landscape, the American Wigeon's soft, whistling calls weave a soothing melody, a testament to the enduring beauty of this unassuming, yet remarkable, waterfowl.

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