Eurasian Wigeon

Identification

Eurasian Wigeon are medium-sized ducks with a blue-gray bill, black tip, and gray legs. When in flight, they show a green and white wing patch. Females are brown with reddish tone. Males have a cream crown, chestnut head, and gray body. Listen to the Eurasian wigeon’s call by clicking the button above.

Habitat

Eurasian Wigeons are typically found on freshwater wetlands rich in plants, open grassy areas with scattered trees, coastal marshes, and estuaries with plenty of underwater vegetation.

Nutrition

Diet is almost entirely plant based. Forages by grazing on land, by dabbling at surface of water, and sometimes by submerging head and neck.

Breeding

Breeds on shallow freshwater bodies like boreal forest lakes, marshes, and tundra pools. It nests on ground, under dense vegetation near water, in Russia and Scandinavia.

Migration

Eurasian Wigeons migrate from northern areas like Scandinavia and Russia to southern wetlands, where they overwinter. In spring, they return north to breed. In Finland they observed that they migrate earlier in the spring than before, due to climate change.

Distribution

Eurasian Wigeons are found across northern Europe and Asia, especially in Scandinavia and Russia. In winter, they occur in western and southern Europe (Romania, Italy, Slovenia), parts of Asia, and North Africa, mainly in suitable wetland areas.

Status and conservation

IUCN status is Near Threatened. Main threats are wetland loss and degradation of habitats. Conservation focuses on habitat restoration and preventing habitat losses. In Finland it is Vulnerable due to eutrophication and habitat overgrowth.

Cultural heritage

Its latin name “Anas penelope” comes from Greek mythology, where Odysseus’s wife Penelope was said to have been saved by a duck. In Finnish tradition, waterbirds are linked to creation myths, where the world is believed to have formed from a waterbird’s egg.