American Wigeon (pair)

Description:

Male Description Breeding (Alternate) Plumage: White or cream-colored forehead and forecrown and broad dark-green patch extending from behind eye to nape. Bill is bluish-gray with black tip. Cheeks and chin grayish. Breast, sides, and back are pinkish-brown. Rear flanks show a white patch; undertail coverts are black. Eclipse (Basic) Plumage: Variable amounts of white and green on head. Undertail coverts are variably black, with some white. In all plumages, male shows white patch on upper wing, and dark-green speculum. Female Description Head appears grayish overall, with finely-blended white and dusky streaks. Breast and flanks are pale reddish-brown; mantle is grayish-brown with some buff barring. Bill is small and grayish, with a black tip.

Habitat:

This pair was across a country club pond in poor light feeding with coots. Large flock of Ring-necked ducks in the center of the pond.

Notes:

A common and increasingly abundant duck, the American Wigeon breeds in northwestern North America and is found throughout the rest of the continent in migration and in winter.