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American Wigeon : American Wigeon Qatkelliq My dad used to call this duck, “Baldpate,” because the white crown on top of the male’s head looks like a bald man’s head. After consulting the Yupik dictionary, I believe the Yupik name Qatkelliq also refers to this trait. The American wigeon is a member of the so-called “dabbler” clan of ducks that usually feeds in shallow water by either dabbling for food with their bill in the muddy bottom or tipping up on end and reaching down to eat the underwater leaves, stems, buds and seeds of pondweed and other water grasses and sedges. Its diet has a higher percentage of plant matter than that of any other dabbling duck. This is possibly because its short blue bill exerts more force at the tip than other dabblers’ bills do, thereby permitting it to yank and pluck out vegetation more efficiently. But here’s a cool fact about Qatkelliq. It loves a deep-water wild celery, which it can only get by “stealing” from species of diving ducks like Canvasbacks. For this reason, it spends more time feeding out on deep water than any other dabbler. I’ve even seen them feeding right next to swans who can reach far deeper than wigeons to yank out bottom plants, and they simply grab some of the swan’s food when it floats to the surface. In spring, wigeons arrive in the Lower Yukon and other parts of Alaska already paired up, and tend to nest later in the season than most other dabblers. This applies especially to older birds who already know what the mating game is all about. On their wintering grounds experienced males strut their stuff in many different ways. In one display, they extend their neck forward with head low, bill open, while raising the tips of their folded wings to reveal their white wing patches. Other courtship displays include tail-wagging, head-turning, wing-flapping, and sudden jumps out of the water. Younger males try to match the older ones, and most eventually end up with mates by the time they arrive on their nesting grounds. Since they nest later than other ducks, the female immediately searches for just the right spot to lay her eggs. This is often on an island, usually within 100 feet of water and hidden by tall vegetation. The nest is built by the female and is a shallow depression filled with grasses and lined with down. She then lays 6-12 white eggs, which she alone broods for 23-24 days when they hatch all at once, and the downy chicks leave the nest shortly afterward. They follow their mother to water where they begin to feed by themselves mostly on insects. Their mother remains with her brood almost until they can fly 45-63 days later. If a predator approaches, she will do a broken-wing act while the young scatter. When they are hidden, she flies away. Since the attentions of the father bird were not necessary for the success of the nest, he “flew the coop” long before the eggs hatched. The males then head for a large open marsh or lake where they will remain while they go through the flightless stage of their molt. Since the color of their plumage changes from bright to dull, it is referred to as their “eclipse plumage.” This eclipse plumage is retained for only 2 months or so, at which stage they molt a second time into another brightly colored nuptial plumage, which they will use to begin the mating game all over again when they get back to their wintering grounds in the south. Their common name, wigeon, is apparently from the French vigeon, but it has other common names as well, including bald-crown, bald-head, bald wigeon, blue-billed wigeon, California wigeon, green-headed wigeon, poacher, smoking duck, southern wigeon, wheat duck, white belly, and my dad’s favorite, Baldpate. Its scientific name, Anas americana, is the least interesting name of all and translates simply as American duck. » List of Yupik Birds

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