Species: Anas americana

American Wigeon
Species
    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Aves

    Order

    Anseriformes

    Family

    Anatidae

    Genus

    Anas

    Classification
    Other Global Common Names
    Pato Chalcuán - canard d'Amérique
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Waterfowl
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Anseriformes - Anatidae - Anas - Occasional hybrids between A. AMERICANA and A. PENELOPE have been reported (AOU 1983). See Livezey (1991) for a phylogenetic analysis and classification (supergenera, subgenera, infragenera, etc.) of dabbling ducks based on comparative morphology.
    Migration
    false - false - true - Migrates slowly northward through U.S. March-April, arriving in northern nesting areas April-May (late May-early June in Beaufort Sea region). Migrates southward in fall. Present in Puerto Rico and Colombia (uncommon) October-April, Costa Rica October-March (may leave early in very dry years) (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Migrates in small dense flocks. In late spring or early summer, males make long-distance molt migrations to marshes with broad expanses of open water.
    Non-migrant
    false
    Locally Migrant
    false
    Food Comments
    Feeds on leaves, stems, buds, and some seeds of pondweeds, wigeon grass, grasses, and sedges. Forges in shallow water and grazes in fields. May also some snails, beetles, and crickets (Terres 1980).
    Reproduction Comments
    Breeding begins early May in south to early June in north. Clutch size is 6-12 (usually 9-11). Incubation, by female, lasts 22-24 days (Terres 1980). Young are tended by female, independent in about 6-7 weeks (Harrison 1978).
    Length
    48
    Weight
    792
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    1996-11-21
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-11-21
    Other Status

    LC - Least concern

    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=S5&CA.BC=S5&CA.LB=S3&CA.MB=S5&CA.NB=S3&CA.NF=S3&CA.NT=S5&CA.NS=S4&CA.NU=SNR&CA.ON=S4&CA.PE=S5&CA.QC=S4&CA.SK=S5&CA.YT=S3&US.AL=__&US.AK=S5&US.AZ=S1&US.AR=__&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S5&US.CT=__&US.DE=__&US.DC=__&US.FL=__&US.GA=S5&US.HI=__&US.ID=S5&US.IL=__&US.IN=__&US.IA=S2&US.KS=__&US.KY=__&US.LA=__&US.ME=S1&US.MD=__&US.MA=S1&US.MI=S1&US.MN=SNR&US.MS=__&US.MO=__&US.MT=S5&US.NN=__&US.NE=S2&US.NV=S2&US.NH=__&US.NJ=__&US.NM=S4&US.NY=S3&US.NC=__&US.ND=SNR&US.OK=__&US.OR=S5&US.PA=__&US.RI=__&US.SC=__&US.SD=S4&US.TN=__&US.TX=S3&US.UT=S2&US.VT=S1&US.VA=__&US.WA=S4&US.WV=__&US.WY=S5" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - BREEDS: mainly Alaska east to Manitoba, south to northeastern California, northern Nevada, northern Colorado, northern Nebraska, northern Minnesota. NORTHERN WINTER: mainly southern Alaska-Mexico; central U.S. to southern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley; Nova Scotia south along coast to Gulf of Mexico, West Indies, Panama, northern Colombia, Trinidad, rarely northwestern Venezuela; uncommon but regular in Hawaii. In the U.S., the highest winter densities generally occur in the coastal Pacific Northwest and the vicinity of the Texas-New Mexico border (Root 1988).
    Global Range Code
    H
    Global Range Description
    >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104824