< Back | Name: | Gadwall | | Family: | Dabbling Ducks | | Scientific Name:
| Anas strepera | | Description: | Drab brown from a distance, the male has a black rump with white patches near the rear of the wing, a dull red patch on the forewing and intricate patterns on its body feathers. The medium-sized female is mottled brown with a white patch near the rear of the wing. Sometimes called “gray duck.” | | Habit: | Found in lakes and ponds but uses naturally flooded areas and flooded agricultural fields. A gadwall’s diet is mostly aquatic vegetation, so they often can be seen feeding in deep water. They nest in the north-central U.S. and central Canada’s Prairie Pothole Region. Females lay 7-12 eggs in a small nest in fields, meadows or islands. Gadwalls nest later than most other duck species. | |
State Occurrence:
| Statewide during winter but most common in the Mississippi River Delta. |
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Click Photo to Enlarge USFWS Male | Click Photo to Enlarge USFWS Female |
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