Ducks & Geese

American Wigeon

Amerikanische Pfeifente

Mareca americana

Ducks & Geese5 photosFirst seen: 8 July 2026

The American Wigeon is a compact dabbling duck with a short blue-grey bill. Males have a white crown and a green patch behind the eye, while females are warm brown with a greyish head. It feeds heavily on grasses and aquatic plants and often grazes on land. It also takes vegetation brought to the surface by coots and diving ducks. The species breeds mainly inland and winters in wetlands, estuaries and sheltered coastal waters.

ID tip: In both sexes the pale blue-grey bill with a crisply defined black tip is the giveaway; on males, compare the white crown and green eye-stripe with the rare Eurasian Wigeon's rufous head and buff crown.

First seen: 8 July 2026 · Carkeek Park · 5 photos in the collection.

Places in my records

Locations where this species is supported by a dated first record, an unambiguous single-place outing or a reviewed assignment.

Carkeek Park8 July 2026

Family: Ducks & Geese (Anatidae)
Length: 42–59 cm
Wingspan: 76–91 cm
Regional status: Winter visitor (Pacific Northwest, USA)
Conservation: Least Concern LCIUCN Red List · retrieved 27 August 2026
Habitat: Flooded fields, lake margins, estuaries, park ponds and playing fields
Diet: Grasses and aquatic vegetation, some invertebrates

Built from verified occurrence records, not drawn by hand. Core range = the countries holding 99% of all records; the rest are scattered or vagrant records. Record counts track where people watch birds as much as where the birds are, so the map shows presence, not abundance. Data: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). Basemap: Natural Earth.

American Wigeon

Places in my records

Selected photographs