Identification - Breeding males have a gray-brown head with a cream to white crown and a green band that moves back from the eye. In flight, males show a large white patch on the upper wing. Females are dark mottled brown with a gray head. Both sexes have a light blue, black-tipped bill.
Morsels - Waterfowl, such as wigeon, go through an extended period when they cannot fly. Unlike most other birds that molt their flight feathers one at a time from each wing, waterfowl molt all their flight feathers at once. The bright colors of the male duck would be a hindrance at that time. To solve the problem they take on an eclipse plumage and resemble the drab females.
