The wigeons are dabbling ducks in the genus Anas. There are three species: the Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), the American Wigeon (A. americana) and the Chiloe Wigeon (A. sibilatrix). Widgeon is an alternative, though archaic, spelling; the American Wigeon has in the past been known as Baldpate. All three are similarly shaped, with a steep forehead and bulbous rear to the head. Males have a distinctive breeding plumage, in their eclipse plumage they resemble females, which are similar in appearance year-round.[citation needed] The three species' closest relatives within the genus Anas are the Gadwall and the Falcated Duck.[1] All three wigeon species hybridise in captivity,[2] and American and Eurasian Wigeons hybridise in the wild.[3] An American Wigeon × Mallard hybrid has also been recorded [4]
[edit] References
Male (front) and female (rear) American Wigeons
Male (rear) and female (front) Chiloe Wigeons
- ^ Johnson and Sorenson, 1999
- ^ Jiguet, 1999
- ^ Carey, 1993
- ^ Fedynich and Rhodes, 1993
[edit] Literature cited
- Bailey, H. H. (1919) An interesting hybrid of Mareca penelope (Widgon) and Mareca americana (Baldpate) Wilson Bulletin 31:25
- Harrison, J. M. and J. G. Harrison (1968) Wigeon × Chiloe Wigeon hybrid resembling American Wigeon British Birds 61: 169-171 (requires registration to view full article)
- Watson, G. E. (1970) A presumed wild hybrid Baldpate × Eurasian Wigeon The Auk 87: 353-7
- (Japanese) Shiota, T. (1987) [A challenge in the identificaiton of hybrid American and Eurasian Wigeon] Yacho 496:6, 18-19
- Carey, Geoff J. (1993) Hybrid male wigeon in East Asia Hong Kong Bird Report 1992 160-6
- Fedynich, Alan M. & Olin E. Rhodes, Jr. (1993) Mallard × American Wigeon Hybrid on the Southern High Plains of Texas The Southwestern Naturalist, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Jun., 1993), pp. 179–181, doi:10.2307/3672079 [1]
- Harrop, Andrew (1994) Photo-forum: a presumed hybrid American Wigeon in Grampian Birding World 7:116-7
- Jiguet, Frédéric (1999) Photo-forum: hybrid American Wigeons Birding World 12(6):247-52
- Johnson, Kevin P; Sorenson, Michael D (July 1999). "Phylogeny and biogeography of dabbling ducks (genus: Anas): A comparison of molecular and morphological evidence" (PDF). The Auk 116 (3): 792–805. http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v116n03/p0792-p0805.pdf.
- MacKay, Andrew (1996) Hybrid wigeon resembling American Wigeon in Leicestershire Birding World' 9:146-7
[edit] Identification
[edit] External links
Photographs of hybrid wigeons can be seen here and here.
