The American Wigeon is a compact, round-headed dabbling duck with a distinctive whistling voice — a bouncy, three-note "whee-whew-whew" that gives flocks a cheerful, squeaky chorus quite unlike the quacking of other ducks. The drake is warm gray and brown with a gleaming white crown (earning the old name "baldpate") and a broad green swoosh sweeping back from the eye. Both sexes have a small, pale blue-gray bill tipped in black and show a white belly and, in flight, a white patch on the forewing.
Wigeon are unusual among dabblers for how much they graze on land, walking through wet meadows and lawns to crop grasses much as geese do. On the water they often linger near diving ducks and coots, waiting to steal the aquatic plants those birds bring to the surface. They pass through Michigan in good numbers on marshes, lakes, and flooded fields during spring and fall migration, with a few staying into winter and only rare pairs breeding.
More of a grazer than most dabbling ducks, feeding heavily on grasses and aquatic plants both on land and in the water, plus seeds and waste grain. It frequently pirates plant food from diving ducks and coots, snatching vegetation they bring up from below the surface.
The American Wigeon. Its bouncy, three-note whistle, often written "whee-whew-whew," gives flocks a distinctive squeaky sound very different from the quacking of Mallards and other ducks.
The drake's gleaming white forehead and crown made early observers think of a bald head, giving rise to the old name "baldpate." A broad green stripe sweeps back from the eye below the white crown.
Unlike most dabbling ducks, the American Wigeon feeds heavily on grasses, walking through wet meadows, fields, and lawns to crop vegetation much like a goose. It also steals aquatic plants from diving ducks on the water.
Females, immatures, and eclipse males lack the male's green eye stripe and white forehead. The pale blue bill with its black tip is a better mark than head pattern on any bird that isn't a breeding male.
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