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American wigeons (Mareca americana) are dabbling ducks that sometimes migrate through our area and have been spotted recently in Cambridge’s Fresh Pond. Dabbling ducks upend themselves to feed near the surface. They have a comblike structure around the edge of the bill that strains water and traps food. They use this comb also to preen their feathers and grasp slippery aquatic plants.
Very rarely do American wigeons breed in Massachusetts, so the birds at Fresh Pond will probably make their way farther north soon to breed in Canada or Alaska. Look for these shy birds if you are near a pond or river, but don’t get too close – they scare easily.
Male American wigeons have cream-colored feathers on the crown and front of the head, so an earlier name for this bird was baldpate, or white head. (Bald used to refer to whiteness, not lack of hair, which explains why bald eagles have the name they do.) Eventually the bird became known as the wigeon, but even that name was inconsistent. The word wigeon was often spelled widgeon or widgen. If you research this duck, you may have to try multiple spelling combinations to unearth the information you seek.
The male wigeon has green feathers behind each eye. It is rust-colored on its sides and black in the rear. It has a light blue bill. Female wigeons are mostly shades of brown.
Contrary to what you may have heard, most ducks do not quack. Ducks make a variety of calls, including whistles, coos and grunts. Most ducks are quiet; the wigeon is an exception – it a noisy bird. You are likely to hear it before you see it. The male communicates by giving a high-pitched whee-whee, which I think sounds like the squeaker in a stuffed toy but others have described as sounding like a soft kazoo.
Most dabbling ducks spend their time in shallow water, but again the American wigeon is an exception. It frequently grazes on land, and it also likes deep water. Wigeons at times get food by stealing it from other ducks, so some people call them poacher or robber ducks. Ornithologist Edward Howe Forbush once described their feeding behavior this way: “As it is rather a poor diver it watches these diving Ducks, and as one comes up from the bottom with the wild celery or other favorite root or bud in its bill, the Baldpate snatches the morsel and makes off. It also feeds much upon pond weeds and other water plants.”
After breeding in the north, American wigeons return south in the fall and will once again visit our ponds and bays. Often, one or two Eurasian wigeons will join the group after flying to our shores from Iceland.
In The Birds of the Cambridge Region (1906), William Brewster writes that the baldpate, once common, was by 1906 a rare autumn visitor. He goes on,
Dr. Samuel Cabot once told me that when he was at Harvard College (1832–1836) he used to kill American Widgeon regularly and in some numbers, in autumn, finding them either in Fresh Pond or along the then retired reaches of Alewife Brook between the outlet of this pond and the road (now Massachusetts Avenue) leading from Harvard Square to Menotomy (now Arlington). They must have ceased to frequent these localities before my shooting experience began, for I have never met with the species anywhere in the region about Cambridge.
More about ducks
What distinguishes a duck from a goose or a swan? All three are members of the same family – but ducks are smaller and have shorter necks. Ducks (and swans) have legs that are far back on the body, which gives them a waddling gait. Male and female ducks look different from each other; male and female swans and geese look virtually the same.
People have hunted ducks since prehistoric times. Because ducks floating on water cannot react quickly, the term “a sitting duck” has come to mean “an easy target.” In 2002, a psychologist named Richard Wiseman studied global humor and concluded that of all the animals in the animal kingdom, ducks are the funniest. “If you’re going to tell a joke involving an animal, make it a duck,” he said. Perhaps this is why we have the animated characters Donald, Daffy and Scrooge, as well as the Aflac duck?
Wiseman also concluded that the funniest joke in the world (liked by the most people in the most countries) involved duck hunters. It goes something like this:
Two New Jersey duck hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. The fallen man doesn’t seem to be breathing, and his eyes have rolled back in his head. The other hunter whips out his cellphone and calls 911. He gasps to the operator, “My friend is dead! What can I do?”
The operator, in a calm, soothing voice, says, “Calm down. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.”
There is a silence, and then a shot is heard. The hunter comes back on the line: “Okay, now what?”
Have you taken photos of our urban wild things? Send your images to Cambridge Day, and we may use them as part of a future feature. Include the photographer’s name and the general location where the photo was taken.
Jeanine Farley is an educational writer who has lived in the Boston area for more than 30 years. She enjoys taking photos of our urban wild things.
The far left and far right of the background on the feature image to this post (not seen above) was generated digitally and is not real. The rabbit was photographed and is real.
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