Eurasian Wigeon

• GeneralIts shrill whistle is one of the characteristic sounds of the winter marshes.
• It is a monotypic species: no subspecies are recognised across its enormous Palearctic range.
• It does not breed in Spain: the birds that arrive come from Iceland, the British Isles and the coasts of the North Sea and the Baltic.
• It owes its name to the male's high, musical whistle, very different from the typical quacking of the dabbling ducks.
• The 2021 Red Book of the Birds of Spain classifies it as Near Threatened because of its declining population trend, even though in Spain it occurs only as a winter visitor.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat & environment

Tundra when breeding; saltmarsh and flooded meadows in winter

Size at birth

Precocial chicks, able to feed themselves within hours of hatching, which complete their development in 40-45 days

Sexual maturity

Between one and two years

Gestation / incubation

24-25 days of incubation, with the whole clutch hatching at once

Litter / clutch size

8-9 creamy eggs, which may reach 12

Sources consulted: SEO/BirdLife (ficha y III Atlas de las aves en época de reproducción en España); IUCN Red List; Asturnatura; Lista Roja Europea de Aves; Del Hoyo et al. 1992, Handbook of the Birds of the World; Carboneras et al. 2020, Birds of the World

Best time: From September to March, when it arrives at the Spanish wetlands