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Mareca americana

(Gmelin, 1789)

American Wigeon

G5Secure Found in 117 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104824
Element CodeABNJB10180
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderAnseriformes
FamilyAnatidae
GenusMareca
Synonyms
Anas americanaGmelin, 1789
Other Common Names
American wigeon (EN) Canard d'Amérique (FR) Pato Chalcuán (ES)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Occasional hybrids between A. americana and A. penelope have been reported (AOU 1983). Formerly (AOU 1983, 1998) considered part of Anas, but now treated as separate on the basis of genetic data (Gonzalez et al. 2009) which indicate that Anas as previously constituted was paraphyletic, and further that it consisted of four deeply divergent clades, now recognized as the separate genera Sibirionetta, Spatula, Mareca, and Anas (cf. Livezey 1991). Linear sequence of genera and species follows Gonzalez et al. (2009). (AOU 2017).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-06
Change Date1996-11-21
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Range Extent Comments
BREEDS: mainly Alaska east to Manitoba, south to northeastern California, northern Nevada, northern Colorado, northern Nebraska, northern Minnesota. NORTHERN WINTER: mainly southern Alaska-Mexico; central U.S. to southern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley; Nova Scotia south along coast to Gulf of Mexico, West Indies, Panama, northern Colombia, Trinidad, rarely northwestern Venezuela; uncommon but regular in Hawaii. In the U.S., the highest winter densities generally occur in the coastal Pacific Northwest and the vicinity of the Texas-New Mexico border (Root 1988).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Large marshes and lakes; when not breeding, in both freshwater and brackish areas and foraging in marsh edges, sloughs and sheltered bays (AOU 1983). Nests in freshwater situations with exposed shorelines; on dry land on islands, near lakes, ponds or sloughs; but often relatively far from water.

Reproduction

Breeding begins early May in south to early June in north. Clutch size is 6-12 (usually 9-11). Incubation, by female, lasts 22-24 days (Terres 1980). Young are tended by female, independent in about 6-7 weeks (Harrison 1978).
Terrestrial Habitats
Grassland/herbaceousCropland/hedgerow
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5B,N5N
ProvinceRankNative
OntarioS4B,S4N,S5MYes
Island of NewfoundlandS3B,SUMYes
AlbertaS5BYes
New BrunswickS4B,S4MYes
SaskatchewanS5BYes
Prince Edward IslandS5BYes
Northwest TerritoriesS5Yes
Yukon TerritoryS4BYes
British ColumbiaS5B,S5NYes
ManitobaS4BYes
LabradorS2B,S3MYes
Nova ScotiaS4B,S4MYes
QuebecS4BYes
NunavutSUBYes
United StatesN5B,N5N
ProvinceRankNative
VermontS1BYes
AlaskaS4N,S5BYes
IllinoisSNAYes
IowaS2B,S5NYes
South DakotaS4BYes
GeorgiaS5Yes
WyomingS5B,S4NYes
VirginiaSNRNYes
MontanaS5BYes
LouisianaS3NYes
TennesseeS4NYes
MaineS1B,S3NYes
KentuckyS4NYes
IndianaSNAYes
ArizonaS1B,S5NYes
HawaiiSNAYes
ConnecticutSNAYes
North CarolinaS5NYes
MichiganS1Yes
District of ColumbiaS3NYes
North DakotaSNRBYes
IdahoS4B,S4NYes
PennsylvaniaS3N,S3MYes
MarylandS4NYes
NebraskaS2Yes
MississippiS4NYes
NevadaS3B,S4NYes
MissouriSNRN,SNRMYes
ArkansasS4NYes
TexasS3B,S5NYes
South CarolinaS5NYes
DelawareS4NYes
Rhode IslandSNAYes
WisconsinS3NYes
AlabamaS5NYes
ColoradoS5BYes
West VirginiaS2NYes
CaliforniaSNRB,SNRNYes
MinnesotaSNRBYes
FloridaSNRNYes
UtahS2B,S3NYes
New MexicoS4B,S5NYes
MassachusettsS1B,S4NYes
New HampshireSNAYes
WashingtonS4B,S5NYes
OklahomaSNRNYes
New YorkS3Yes
New JerseySNAYes
OregonS5Yes
KansasS3NYes
Navajo NationS3NYes
Roadless Areas (117)
Alaska (32)
AreaForestAcres
Bering LakeChugach National Forest965,076
Boston BarChugach National Forest53,617
College FiordChugach National Forest1,130,818
Douglas IslandTongass National Forest28,065
Fidalgo-GravinaChugach National Forest257,968
Freshwater BayTongass National Forest44,933
Game CreekTongass National Forest54,469
Green RocksTongass National Forest11,093
Johnson PassChugach National Forest152,508
Juneau UrbanTongass National Forest101,581
Juneau-Skagway IcefieldTongass National Forest1,187,268
Kenai LakeChugach National Forest213,172
Kenai MountainsChugach National Forest306,600
MadanTongass National Forest68,553
Mansfield PeninsulaTongass National Forest54,991
Middle KruzofTongass National Forest14,724
Nellie JuanChugach National Forest713,697
North BaranofTongass National Forest314,089
North KruzofTongass National Forest33,146
North RevillaTongass National Forest215,430
North WrangellTongass National Forest8,091
RedoubtTongass National Forest68,347
ResurrectionChugach National Forest224,615
RevillaTongass National Forest29,298
Roaded DonutChugach National Forest968
Sitka UrbanTongass National Forest112,003
South KruzofTongass National Forest55,193
Taku-SnettishamTongass National Forest664,928
Tenakee RidgeTongass National Forest20,527
Twenty MileChugach National Forest198,775
Upper SitukTongass National Forest16,789
Yakutat ForelandsTongass National Forest323,648
Arizona (5)
AreaForestAcres
Black CrossTonto National Forest5,966
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
MazatzalTonto National Forest16,942
PinalenoCoronado National Forest130,920
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
California (14)
AreaForestAcres
Boundary Peak (CA)Inyo National Forest210,884
CajonSan Bernardino National Forest7,548
ChannellSequoia National Forest45,429
ChicoSequoia National Forest39,836
City CreekSan Bernardino National Forest9,997
Deep CreekSan Bernardino National Forest23,869
Glass MountainInyo National Forest52,867
Granite ChiefTahoe National Forest6,546
Magic MountainAngeles National Forest15,542
NordhoffLos Padres National Forest12,031
Orleans Mtn. BSix Rivers National Forest17,183
Raywood Flat BSan Bernardino National Forest11,373
Rouse HillSan Bernardino National Forest13,745
WoolstaffSequoia National Forest41,445
Colorado (1)
AreaForestAcres
Dome PeakRoutt NF35,716
Idaho (3)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekCaribou-Targhee National Forest118,582
HoodooNez Perce-Clearwater National Forest153,868
PalisadesCaribou-Targhee National Forest122,002
Montana (18)
AreaForestAcres
Bear - Marshall - Scapegoat - SwanLewis and Clark National Forest344,022
Big Snowy Mountains WsaLewis and Clark National Forest88,003
Bmss Ra 1485Flathead National Forest334,275
Buckhorn Ridge (MT)Kootenai National Forest34,716
Cube Iron - SilcoxLolo National Forest36,998
East PioneerBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest145,082
Freezeout MountainBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest97,305
Gallatin FringeGallatin National Forest51,571
Hyalite - Porcupine - Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study AreaGallatin National Forest143,991
Lazyman GulchHelena National Forest11,614
LionheadGallatin National Forest33,549
MadisonGallatin National Forest127,859
Middle Fork Judith WsaLewis and Clark National Forest81,131
North AbsarokaGallatin National Forest159,075
Scotchman Peaks (MT)Kootenai National Forest53,909
Selway - Bitterroot (01067)Bitterroot National Forest114,953
West Big HoleBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest133,563
West PioneerBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest248,631
Nevada (3)
AreaForestAcres
Bunker HillHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest27,569
South SchellHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest125,614
Toiyabe RangeHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest99,225
New Mexico (6)
AreaForestAcres
Apache MountainGila National Forest17,506
Contiguous To Black & Aldo Leopold WildernessGila National Forest111,883
Contiguous To Gila Wilderness & Primitive AreaGila National Forest79,049
Gila BoxGila National Forest23,759
Meadow CreekGila National Forest34,167
Nichols ReservoirSanta Fe National Forest1,518
Oregon (5)
AreaForestAcres
HellholeUmatilla National Forest65,679
Hurricane CreekWallowa-Whitman National Forest1,606
Mt. BaileyUmpqua National Forest18,401
North PaulinaDeschutes National Forest19,670
South PaulinaDeschutes National Forest9,074
South Dakota (1)
AreaForestAcres
Indian CreekBuffalo Gap National Grassland24,666
Texas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Big CreekNational Forests in Texas1,447
Utah (7)
AreaForestAcres
418027Uinta National Forest13,884
Mahogany RangeWasatch-Cache National Forest11,409
Mt. Logan NorthWasatch-Cache National Forest18,930
Mt. Logan SouthWasatch-Cache National Forest17,014
Mt. Logan WestWasatch-Cache National Forest5,285
Oak CreekFishlake National Forest54,053
WellsvilleWasatch-Cache National Forest1,717
Washington (6)
AreaForestAcres
Grassy TopIdaho Panhandle National Forests13,485
Grassy TopColville National Forest10,302
Jupiter RidgeOlympic National Forest10,148
Mt. BonaparteOkanogan National Forest10,891
TaneumWenatchee National Forest26,140
Thorp Mtn.Wenatchee National Forest22,717
Wyoming (15)
AreaForestAcres
Grayback RidgeBridger-Teton National Forest295,113
Gros Ventre MountainsBridger-Teton National Forest106,418
Little Sheep MountainBridger-Teton National Forest14,192
Monument RidgeBridger-Teton National Forest17,720
Mosquito Lake - Seven LakesBridger-Teton National Forest51,950
Munger MountainBridger-Teton National Forest12,827
Pacific Creek - Blackrock CreekBridger-Teton National Forest24,658
PalisadesTarghee National Forest1,121
Sheep MountainMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest17,626
Sulphur CreekShoshone National Forest30,221
Teton Corridor TrailheadsBridger-Teton National Forest286
West Slope TetonsTarghee National Forest47,448
West Slope WindsBridger-Teton National Forest143,252
Wilderness Study AreaTarghee National Forest51,961
Windy MountainShoshone National Forest31,283
References (30)
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  18. Peterson, R.T. 1990b. A field guide to western birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
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  21. Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 511 pp.
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  30. Zook, J. L. 2002. Distribution maps of the birds of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Unpublished.