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| Wetlands & Waterfowl's Guide to North American Waterfowl: | |||
| Click to load: American Bittern American Widgeon Black- Crowned Night Heron Black Duck Blue-Winged Teal Canada Goose Canvasback Cattle Egret Common Egret Cinnamon Teal Gadwall Great Blue Heron Great Egret Green-Winged Teal Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Mallard Mute Swan Northern Pintail Northern Shoveler Redhead Ring-Necked Snowy Egret Snow Goose Trumpeter Swan Wood Duck |
American Widgeon Scroll down for details  Scientific Name: Anas
americana Habitat: ponds, lakes and marshes Appearance: 18-23" long. Most discernable feature for male and female are white wing patches that show in flight. Male: white forehead, green ear patch. Female: sandy brown head and body, pale blue-grey bill . Food: foliage and seeds of aquatic plants, some insects and mollusks. Nesting: Nest is a hollow lined with down and grass. Nest is concealed in tall weeds or grasses often far from water. Female lays 6-12 cream colored eggs and incubates for about 25 days. Young are downy, leave the nest soon after hatching and fly at 7-8 weeks. |
The American Widgeon is often found
feeding with diving ducks such as the Redhead, Scaup, and Canvasback, who are adept at
rooting up vegetation from deep in the water. The American Widgeon often feeds by
snatching these underwater greens away from the diving ducks as they surface. The American
Widgeon is more restless than most ducks, and is quick to sense trouble and will launch
itself into the air with a flurry of alarm calls and beating wings, thus alerting the less
suspicious diving ducks around it of the existing danger. Additional Photographs: |
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