© Daniele Occhiato
  • Female. Note: weak supercilium and two bold dark stripes.
  • Female in front. Note: weak supercilium and two bold dark stripes.
  • Male in flight
  • Male in flight
  • Male

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Garganey

Anas querquedula
Anseriformes
The swans, geese and ducks are mid-sized to large birds most commonly found on or near water. Most have plump bodies, long necks and short wings. Most feed while on the water, diving or merely tilting their bodies so that their heads and necks are submerged to search for fish, plants and invertebrates. Washington representatives of the order all belong to one family:
Anatidae
The waterfowl family is represented in Washington by two distinct groups—the geese and swans, and the ducks. Whistling-ducks are also considered a distinct subfamily, and, although they have not been sighted in Washington in many years, Fulvous Whistling-Ducks have been recorded historically in Washington and remain on the official state checklist. All members of the waterfowl family have large clutches of precocial young. They hatch covered in down and can swim and eat on their own almost immediately after hatching.
Accidental visitor. Washington Bird Records Committee review list species.

    General Description

    The Garganey, an Old World dabbling duck, is closely related to the Northern Shoveler and the Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teals. Like these, it is found primarily in freshwater wetlands and shallow ponds, where it feeds by filtering small particles from water passed through its bill rather than by tipping up. The male in breeding plumage is unmistakable, with gray flanks and a bold, white eyebrow crossing to the back of the brown head and curving down toward the neck. Females, juveniles, and non-breeding-plumaged males are difficult to separate from Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teals but have a stronger facial pattern than these.

    The Garganey breeds across Eurasia from the sub-Arctic to the temperate zone and winters in the northern tropics of Africa and Asia. It is a regular migrant in the outer Aleutians and a rare but widespread vagrant across North America. The first accepted Washington record was from the Chehalis River floodplain near Satsop (Grays Harbor County) in April–May 1991. The only other accepted state record was from the Columbia Basin, at Richland (Benton County) in December 1994. An older record of a bird collected near Mount Vernon (Skagit County) in April 1961 has not been reviewed by the Washington Bird Records Committee. Oregon and Idaho each have two or three records while British Columbia has several, including five from the Greater Vancouver vicinity.

    Revised June 2007

    Family Members

    Federal Endangered Species ListAudubon/American Bird Conservancy Watch ListState Endangered Species ListAudubon Washington Vulnerable Birds List

    View full list of Washington State's Species of Special Concern