Birds of Seabrook Island

COAST BIRDS
  Contents
  Index
WORLD BIRDS
  Contents
  Index
ANECDOTES

Aerial Images
Beach Birds
ISLAND LIST (.pdf)

Birds
Identification
Structure
Classification

Species Acct.
▲ Loons
▲ Grebes
▲ Procellarids
▲ Pelicans
▲ Herons
▲ Ibises
▲ Storks
▲ Vultures
▲ Flamingos
▲ Waterfowl
▲ Raptors
▲ Turkeys
▲ Quail
▲ Rails
▲ Limpkin
▲ Cranes
▲ Shorebirds
▲ Gulls
▲ Terns
▲ Auks
▲ Doves
▲ Parrots
▲ Cuckoos
▲ Owls
▲ Goatsuckers
▲ Swifts
▲ Hummers
▲ Kingfishers
▲ Woodpckrs
▲ Flycatchers
▲ Shrikes
▲ Vireos
▲ Crows/Jays
▲ Larks
▲ Swallows
▲ Tits
▲ Nuthatches
▲ Creepers
▲ Wrens
▲ Kinglets
▲ Gnatcatchers
▲ Thrushes
▲ Mimids
▲ Starlings
▲ Pipits
▲ Waxwings
▲ NW Warblers
▲ Tanagers
▲ NWSparrows
▲ Cardinalines
▲ Icterids
▲ Finches
▲ OWSparrows

TOP

Order Anseriformes - Waterfowl
   Family Anatidae - Ducks, Geese, and Swans
      Subfamily Anatinae - True Ducks
         Tribe Anatini - Dabbling Ducks

Waterfowl vary in size - from teal to swans. They all have webbed feet and dense, waterproof plumage. Most nest on the ground and the nest is lined with down plucked by the female from her breast. Except for two small groups not found in North America, all belong to one (or two) families.
Ducks, Geese, and Swans are waterfowl with their bill finely serrated or grooved on the edge. Their tongue is fleshy. Their front toes are webbed. Males have a functional penis. They are strong fliers and many migrate long distances.
True Ducks are sexually dimorphic. The female incubates and cares for the young - the male usually deserts early. Ducks undergo a simultaneous molt of their flight feathers and are flightless until the flight feathers of the alternate plumage regrow. Thus, males wear their nuptial plumage on the winter grounds where pair formation occurs in most species.
Dabbling Ducks all belong to the genus Anas. They feed on or near the surface or "upend," tilting their body vertically to feed on aquatic vegetation.

MORE (Order) MORE (Family)

Eurasian Wigeon, Anas penelope

USGS Wiki ToL EoL

WINTER - Rare / Accidental
OPEN WETLANDS

The European Wigeon is similar to the American Wigeon but the adult male lacks the green feathers on the side of the head that extend from the eye to the crown in the American Wigeon. The flanks are pale gray and the head is dark rufous with a buffy forehead. It is grayish (not white) under the wing. These are Old World ducks that may be seen along our coast.

NOTES:
   Checklists -
      Coastal - rare winter visitor. Cape Romain - rare winter. Huntington Beach - exceptional March.
      ACE - rare winter and spring.
   CBC: Charleston 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0;
             Winyah Bay x, x, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0.
   P&G: Very rare visitor on coast. Dates: 5 November - 9 March.
   M&P: Added coastal record (Savannah NWR).
   Avendex; 18 records, November - March (winter).
   Potter: Recorded every fall (October to mid-April) as far south as the Combahee River.

● Accidental on Seabrook.

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