Tuesday, January 19, 2010

American Wigeon

The American wigeon is a duck that we typically only see in the spring or fall here in Minnesota. They breed up in the tall grasses of Canada as well as parts of the western United States. In the fall the begin to head south, often stopping on lakes and ponds around here to feed before continuing on south. They end up wintering on the East or West coast, the southern US, Mexico, Central America and may even go as far south as the northern portions of South America. The American wigeon has a shorter bill then most other ducks. Their short bill allows them to exert more torque and dig up vegetation that other dabblers are not able to get. Because of this efficiency at feeding the American wigeon has a higher percentage of vegetation in their diet then most other ducks do.

2 comments:

Bestemor Drillo said...

What a beautiful duck !

eileeninmd said...

I think the male Wigeon is a beautiful duck, great shots.