Kingdom: Animalia       Phylum: Chordata       Class: Aves (Birds)       Order: Anseriformes       Family: Anatidae

Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope) is a common winter visitor to the wetlands of west and north India, less common in east and south.

Identification: Eurasian Wigeon has a round head, thin bill, steep forehead with slightly curved shape on the back of the head, narrow neck, and pointed tail and wing tips. Basic coloration is brown eyes, blue-gray legs & feet, white belly and upper middle coverts, blue bill with a black tip, black nostrils, and a green speculum on each wing. In the non-breeding season, the male Wigeon has white upper wing coverts and a dark chestnut-brown head, neck, flanks, and chest. In breeding season the male's breeding plumage is distinguished by a pale gray back & sides, gray wings with black tips, a white patch on each wing, black tail, pink-purple chest, a red head with light yellow crown, and a slightly tinted green patch near each eye. The female has two color phases of gray-brown and rufous. Gray-brown phase shows a dark brown body and wings with gray axillaries, brown head and neck, and dark brown color around eyes. The rufous stage shows a rust-brown colored head, neck, sides, chest and back.

Weight: Male 720 gm; Female 650 gm   Size: 50 cm    Local names: Peason, Patari   Food: mainly vegetable matter, seeds, shoots, also insects and molluscs