American wigeon
Mareca americana (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
The American wigeon (Mareca americana) is a species in the family Anatidae, order Anseriformes. Recorded adults weigh 710 g to 792 g and live up to 21.3 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the American wigeon
- Weight
- 710 g – 792 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 21.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 21.3 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 23.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 8.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the American wigeon
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the American wigeon live?
Not recorded
What is the American wigeon?
The American wigeon (Mareca americana), also known as the baldpate, is a species of dabbling duck found in North America. Formerly assigned to Anas, this species is classified with the other wigeons in the dabbling duck genus Mareca. It is the New World counterpart of the Eurasian wigeon.
From the Wikipedia article “American wigeon” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_wigeon&oldid=1380651683), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the American wigeon endangered?
The American wigeon is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the American wigeon classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusMareca
- SpeciesMareca americana (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
Synonyms Anas americana
Other names and names in other languages (74)
- American widgeonEnglish
- BaldpateEnglish
- Wheat duckEnglish
- بط القمحArabic
- ودجون أمريكيArabic
- Aneda chifladera americanaAragonese
- coríu xiblador americanuAsturian
- Американски фишBulgarian
- Houad JansenBreton
- ànec xiulador nord-americàCatalan
- hvízdák americkýCzech
- Chwiwell AmericaWelsh
- Chwiwellod AmericaWelsh
- Amerikansk PibeandDanish
- KanadapfeifenteGerman
- Nordamerikanische PfeifenteGerman
- Αμερικανικό σφυριχτάριGreek
- amerika fajfanasoEsperanto
- Pato CalvoSpanish
- Pato cabeciblancoSpanish
- Pato CabecilargoSpanish
- Pato chalcuánSpanish
- Silbón americanoSpanish
- ameerika viupartEstonian
- Amerikar ahate txistulariBasque
- گیلار آمریکاییPersian
- ویگئون آمریکاییPersian
- amerikanhaapanaFinnish
- bolladunnaFaroese
- Amerikansk pípontFaroese
- Canard jensenFrench
- Canard à front blancFrench
- Canard d'AmériqueFrench
- Canard d’AmériqueFrench
- Canard siffleur d'AmériqueFrench
- canard siffleur damériqueFrench
- Rualacha mhericeánachIrish
- Rualacha MheiriceánachIrish
- Laagh ruy AmericaanaghScottish Gaelic
- Asubiador americanoGalician
- ברווז אמריקניHebrew
- ברווז אמריקאיHebrew
- अमेरिकी पतेराHindi
- álarcos réceHungarian
- Ամերիկական վայրի բադArmenian
- LjóshöfðaöndIcelandic
- Fischione americanoItalian
- アメリカヒドリJapanese
- 아메리카홍머리오리Korean
- amerikinė cyplėLithuanian
- wəciʔlut
- Amerikas baltvēderisLatvian
- Naalʼeełí bitsiitʼáád łigaaígííNavajo
- Noordamerikaanschen SmuntLow German
- Amerikaanse SmientDutch
- amerikablesandNorwegian
- Amerikanhuabaloolo
- Patu MerikanoPapiamento
- Pato AmerikanaPapiamento
- świstun amerykańskiPolish
- piadeira-americanaPortuguese
- piadeira-americanoPortuguese
- Американская свиязьRussian
- AmerihkásnárttalNorthern Sami
- kačica bielohlaváSlovak
- ameriška žvižgavkaSlovenian
- Američka zviždaraSerbian
- amerikansk bläsandSwedish
- Amerika FiyusuTurkish
- Свищ чилійськийUkrainian
- свищ американськийUkrainian
- Vịt trời MỹVietnamese
- 绿眉鸭Chinese
- 葡萄胸鴨Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the American wigeon
Other species in the same genus Mareca.
Gadwall
Mareca strepera
Eurasian wigeon
Mareca penelope
Falcated duck
Mareca falcata
Chiloé wigeon
Mareca sibilatrix
Amsterdam duck
Mareca marecula
American wigeon x Eurasian wigeon
Mareca americana x penelope
CompareAmerican wigeon vs GadwallAmerican wigeon vs Eurasian wigeonAmerican wigeon vs Falcated duckAmerican wigeon vs Chiloé wigeon
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the American wigeon?
An adult American wigeon weighs 710 g – 792 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the American wigeon endangered?
The American wigeon is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the American wigeon live?
The American wigeon has a recorded lifespan of 21.3 years.
What kind of animal is the American wigeon?
The American wigeon (Mareca americana) belongs to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). American wigeon (Mareca americana). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-wigeon
“American wigeon (Mareca americana).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-wigeon.
@misc{american_wigeon_2026,
title = {American wigeon (Mareca americana)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-wigeon},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}