Gadwall

The gadwall (Mareca strepera) is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. Taxonomy The gadwall was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. DNA studies have shown that it is a sister species with the falcated duck; the two are closely related to the three species of wigeons, and all of them have been assigned to the genus Mareca. There are two subspecies: M. s. strepera, the common gadwall, described by Linnaeus, is the nominate subspecies. M. s. couesi, Coues's gadwall, extinct 1874, was formerly found only on Teraina, a coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The specific name strepera is Late Latin for "noisy". The etymology of the word gadwall is not known, but the name has been in use since 1666. Description The gadwall is long with a wingspan. The male is slightly larger than the female, weighing on average against her . The breeding male is patterned grey, with a black rear end, light chestnut wings, and a brilliant white speculum, obvious in flight or at rest. In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the drake looks more like the female, but retains the male wing pattern, and is usually greyer above and has less orange on the bill.