Gadwall
Anas strepera
Identification Tips:
- Large dabbling duck with steep forehead
- White speculum
- Juvenile similar to adult female
Adult male alternate:
- Alternate plumage worn from fall through early summer
- Black bill
- Brown head
- Gray body
- Gray and brown breast, back and upperwing coverts
- Black rump, uppertail coverts and undertail coverts
- White belly
Adult male basic
Adult female:
- Gray bill with orange edges
- Mottled gray, brown and white body plumage
- Distinct white belly patch
Similar species:
Adult male in alternate plumage is unmistakable. All plumages
easily identified in flight and occasionally at rest by white
speculum. Females and immature at rest can be identified by their
steeper head profile than similarly-plumaged Mallards, by the gray
bill with orange edges, and by the distinct white belly patch.