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education: birds of georgia Eurasian Wigeon, Anas penelope
Status: Accidental in winter with seven confirmed records: Cumberland Island ( Camden ) 28 Dec 1904 (Sprunt 1936); Chatham 18 Nov 1908 (Burleigh 1958); Okefenokee Swamp ( Ware ) 31 Jan 1931 (Hebard 1941); Wassaw Island ( Chatham ) 12 Mar 1938 (Folk 1939); Jekyll Island ( Glynn ) 4 Apr 1973 and 4 Jan 1975 (Denton et al. 1977); and Augusta ( Richmond ) 26 Dec 1998-16 Jan 1999 (O 64:32 GCRC 1998-56) (Beaton et al. 2003). Common in Asia and Europe with birds reaching U.S. from east and west. More common on west coast than on east coast. Now regular in winter in CA, OR, and WA. Breeding possible but not confirmed. Habitat: Marshes, lakes, ponds, bogs, fields. Usually found with flocks of American Wigeon, Anas americana on ponds with open ground nearby or in flooded fields. Also found in sheltered estuaries and on sheltered bays (Kaufman 1996). In Georgia, on fresh water lakes and ponds and on coastal estuaries. Known locations of Georgia sightings are from fresh water (Merry Brickyard Ponds in Augusta 28 Dec 1998-16 Jan 1999 and Okefenokee Swamp, 31 Jan 1931. Sightings from barrier islands could have been from salt water or fresh water ponds on the islands. Burleigh states that "North American stragglers [prefer] fresh water pools and marshes" (Burleigh 1958). Diet: Plant material, but diet in North America not well known. In Europe eats leaves, stems, roots and seeds; in summer, some insects. Grazes on land and dabbles at surface of water, sometime submerging head and neck to get plant material in shallow ponds. Steals food form other birds. Identification: Sexually dimorphic. Male easily distinguished from American Wigeon male by rich rufous head color and wide, creamy -buff forehead and crown stripe and its gray sides. The female is more challenging to separate from American Wigeon, but it has warmer brown head color and does not show a narrow black border at the gape as does American. Conservation: Stable in Asia and Europe. Numbers in North America increasing in recent years, either from better observation or an actual increase (Kaufman 1996).
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