Smew
Mergellus albellus (Linnaeus, 1758)
The smew (Mergellus albellus), also called the White nun, is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup and the family Anatidae, order Anseriformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 608.5 g, from 568 g to 667.2 g in reported values, and a wingspan of 62 cm.
Quick facts about the smew
The smew is a migratory, aquatic carnivore and aquatic predator that lives in wetland habitat, with a geographic range of 11,990,000 km². It lays 8 eggs per clutch with one clutch per year, incubates them for 27.5 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 568 g – 667.2 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 62 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 10 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 27.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 23.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the smew?
Photos of the smew
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the smew live?
Not recorded
What is the smew?
The smew (Mergellus albellus) is a species of duck and is the only living member of the genus Mergellus. The genus is closely related to Mergus and is sometimes included in it; genetic studies have shown that it is the sister taxon to Mergus and Lophodytes. The smew has hybridised with the common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula).
From the Wikipedia article “Smew” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Smew&oldid=1325724915), 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 smew endangered?
The smew 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.
How is the smew classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusMergellus
- SpeciesMergellus albellus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Albellus maculosus, Margellus albellus, Mergullus albellus, Mergus albellus, Mergus albellus, Mergus albellus albellus, Mergus asiaticus, Mergus minutus, Mergus tinus
Other names and names in other languages (99)
- White nunEnglish
- سميوArabic
- بلقشة بيضاءArabic
- Mergo chicotAragonese
- Pitorru CandeAsturian
- merguyu pequeñuAsturian
- Nazik pazdimdikAzerbaijani
- АҡсабанBashkir
- Савук-лутокBelarusian
- Малък нирецBulgarian
- স্মিউ হাঁসBangla
- Heskenneg bihanBreton
- bec de serra petitCatalan
- Пӗчӗк крохальChuvash
- morčák malýCzech
- lleian wenWelsh
- Lleianod GwynWelsh
- SkalleslugerDanish
- lille skalleslugerDanish
- ZwergsägerGerman
- ΝανοπρίστηςGreek
- ΑσπροβουττήκτηςGreek
- eta merĝoEsperanto
- Blanka merĝoEsperanto
- Serreta chicaSpanish
- pudukoskelEstonian
- VäikekoskelEstonian
- väikekoskel e. pudukoskelEstonian
- Zerra txikiBasque
- مرگوس سفیدPersian
- مرغابی شمال اروپا و آسياPersian
- uiveloFinnish
- MarontFaroese
- Harle pietteFrench
- Lytse SeachbekWestern Frisian
- Síolta ghealIrish
- sìolta bhreacScottish Gaelic
- Sioltaich breacScottish Gaelic
- sìoltaidhean breacaScottish Gaelic
- sìoltain bhreacaScottish Gaelic
- sìoltan breacScottish Gaelic
- Mergo pequenoGalician
- Thunnag vreck eeacklaghManx
- מרגון גמדHebrew
- מרגון גמדיHebrew
- bijeli ronacCroatian
- kis bukóHungarian
- ԼուտոկArmenian
- HvítöndIcelandic
- pesciaiolaItalian
- ミコアイサJapanese
- პატარა ბატასინიGeorgian
- Кічіг сусkjn
- Кіші бейнарықKazakh
- 흰비오리Korean
- Lenes wynCornish
- Klenge SeeërLuxembourgish
- mažasis dančiasnapisLithuanian
- mazā gauraLatvian
- бел нуркачMacedonian
- Бел потопникMacedonian
- Serra BajdaMaltese
- Цахиур бохиоMongolian
- lappfiskandNorwegian Bokmål
- nonnetjeDutch
- MutérlètePicard
- bielaczekPolish
- سمیوWestern Panjabi
- merganso-pequenoPortuguese
- Marel pitschenRomansh
- Ferestraş micRomanian
- Ferestraș micRomanian
- Малый крохальRussian
- или белый гоголь (устар.)Russian
- БилгинэхYakut
- GárggogoalsiNorthern Sami
- guoikagoalsiNorthern Sami
- njunjálatNorthern Sami
- potápač malýSlovak
- mali žagarSlovenian
- Mala žagaricaSlovenian
- zhytës i bardhëAlbanian
- zhytësi i vogël laramanAlbanian
- Mali ronacSerbian
- Мали ронацSerbian
- salskrakeSwedish
- sutlabiTurkish
- SütlabiTurkish
- Бичии ак даргатTuvinian
- ЛутокUkrainian
- Крех малийUkrainian
- Vịt màoVietnamese
- 小秋沙Chinese
- 斑头秋沙鸭Chinese
- 斑頭秋沙鴨Chinese
- 白秋沙Chinese
- 白秋沙〔斑頭秋沙，小秋沙〕Chinese
- 白秋沙鴨Chinese
- 白秋沙鸭Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the smew
Other species in the same family Anatidae.
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
Greylag goose
Anser anser
Northern pintail
Anas acuta
Mute swan
Cygnus olor
Eurasian teal
Anas crecca
Ruddy shelduck
Tadorna ferruginea
CompareSmew vs MallardSmew vs Greylag gooseSmew vs Northern pintailSmew vs Mute swan
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is the smew?
The smew has an adult body mass of 608.5 g, with reported values from 568 g to 667.2 g. Its wingspan is 62 cm.
What does the smew eat?
The smew is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.
Is the smew endangered?
No. The smew is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the smew live?
The smew has a lifespan of 10 years.
How many eggs does the smew lay?
The smew lays 8 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 27.5 days.
What kind of animal is the smew?
The smew is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae and the order Anseriformes. It is migratory and lives in wetland habitat.
Who described the smew?
The smew was described by Linnaeus in 1758; its scientific name authority is written (Linnaeus, 1758).
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). Smew (Mergellus albellus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/smew
“Smew (Mergellus albellus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/smew.
@misc{smew_2026,
title = {Smew (Mergellus albellus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/smew},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}