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education: birds of georgia American Wigeon, Anas americana
Status: Uncommon to common winter resident on Coast and uncommon winter resident over entire state, 13 Sep (1955) - 7 May (1955). Common transient over state. Extreme dates: Mountains 8 Oct- 23 May; Piedmont 21 Sep- 18 May; Coastal Plain 13 Sep-27 May; Coast 8 Oct- 7 Apr. Accidental in summer. High count: 3579 at Lake Seminole 10 Jan 1994.(Beaton, et al, 2003). Habitat: Marshes, lakes, bays and fields. Nests across Canada and across ND, SD, MT, CO, WY, ID, OR, n UT. In Georgia, often seen on deep lakes but also in marshes and coastal estuaries. Spends more time than other ducks grazing in short grass on land near water (Kaufman, 1996), but this behavior seldom observed in Georgia. Diet: Plant material such as pondweeds, sedges, wild celery, eelgrass and algae. Also snails and insects. On land, grazes on young grass shoots and eats seeds and waste grains. On deep lakes, steals food from coots and diving ducks (Kaufman, 1996), Identification: A dabbling duck with a short bluish bill tipped in black and showing black at gape, a mark lacking in Eurasian Wigeon, Anas penelope. Dark patch around eye in both sexes. Adult breeding male ( Oct-Jun) distinctive with white or buffy crown, from which nickname "Baldpate" is derived; metallic green supercilium extending to nape; light gray cheek and throat; pinkish- brown back and pinkish breast and sides; anterior portion of sides white; vent and tail black; tertials black, broadly fringed in buff; wing of flying adult of both sexes shows large white patch on top portion of inner wing and large black patch under it on secondaries; primaries light gray; underwing of flying adults shows large white center. Adult breeding female similar to male but shows all gray head with dark eye patch, no white on sides and light gray vent (Sibley,2000 and pers.obs.) Conservation: Numbers stable with expansion of nesting range since 1930's into eastern Canada and New England (Kaufman, 1996).
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