Eurasian wigeon

Latin Anas penelope
Estonian Viupart

Also known as: European wigeon, widgeon, wigeon

Status in Estonia

Breeding, migratory and wintering bird.

Description

The Eurasian wigeon is a medium-sized duck with a short and slim neck, a rather large rounded head, a small beak and a pointed tail. A white belly patch is clearly visible in all plumages. The shoulder plumage and lower wing coverts are dull and pale grey. The male bird’s definitive plumage includes a chestnut-brown head and neck, a rusty yellow forehead and crown, a grey-pink breast, a grey body with white and black underparts and a big white spot on the front of the upper wing with green secondaries in flight. The female bird is a dull rust-brown or greyish colour with scattered specks, dark plumage, a light grey-blue black-tipped beak and a contrasting white underbelly; the secondaries are dull and dark. The male bird in eclipse plumage resembles the female bird, but the white patch on the front of the coverts stays and the plumage is more rust-coloured. The juvenile is similar to the female, but the white underside is frequently lightly speckled, and the secondaries are dull.

Size

Body length 42–50 cm, wingspan 71–85 cm, body mass 600–850 g.

Eurasian wigeon (male). Photo: Sander Sirelbu

Similar species

American wigeon.

Distribution

It breeds in Northern Eurasia. It is an uncommon breeding bird in Estonia.

Population

Estonia has 50–80 breeding pairs.

Occurrence in Estonia

It arrives in March and April, departs in September and October. Male birds go to the Baltic Sea in July to moult; therefore, the autumn migration is more substantial than the spring migration. A few (10–50) stay to winter.

Diet

It is a herbivore; it frequently visits farmlands in winter.

Habitat

It breeds mostly in taiga zone lakes and bogs, tundra lakes and, in Estonia, on beach meadows and islands. When ice forms, it flies to southern sea bays, lakes and reservoirs.

Nesting

The nest is located near water, usually in the shade or under some tall tufts of grass. The nest is pressed from soft grass. In May, the female lays 8–9 eggs, which she incubates for 24–25 days. The chicks are nidifugous and follow their mother shortly after hatching. They learn to fly when they are 40–45 days old.

Conservation status and protection

Not under protection. The Eurasian wigeon is a gamebird. Water contamination poses a threat and birds of prey and predators, who are their natural enemies.

Distribution and population in Lääne County

The Eurasian wigeon is a common migratory bird in Lääne County; however, they don’t breed here. Matsalu and Haapsalu bays have by far the most numerous dabbling ducks in spring and autumn. In the spring, Eurasian wigeons enjoy stopping at Matsalu’s flooded-meadows.

The largest migratory flocks of Eurasian wigeons can be seen from the Haeska birdwatching tower. In the autumn, thousands of Eurasian wigeons stop in Haapsalu’s Tagalaht Bay and may be seen from the Haapsalu beach promenade.