Species › Birds

Eurasian Wigeon

Anas penelope

Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Presence in the Strait: Seasonal
Abundance: scarce
IUCN (global): LC · Least concern
In Spanish: Silbón europeo

31% of its open observations in the area are from January.

Photograph: Christoph Moning, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 45–51 cm
Wingspan: 75–86 cm
Weight: 650–800 g

Presence in the Strait

Scarce winter visitor to wetlands (<150).

Identification

Compact appearance. Rounded head with small grey-blue bill with black tip and a distinct white belly patch. In flight, males show a large white patch on wings. Female are dull greyish with rusty flanks.

Movements

The first arrive in September and leave at the end of March.

Ring recoveries

Holland (1) and Spain (1).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

31 %

Peak in January. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 12 January 1983
Latest record: 30 December 2024

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Not included
Spanish Catalogue: Not included
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: NT · Near threatened · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Where they come from

2 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Netherlands1
Spain1

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Northern Shoveler49–52 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size
Mallard51–62 cm · Resident · overlapping size
Gadwall46–56 cm · Presence to be confirmed · overlapping size
Garganey37–41 cm · Migrant
Eurasian Teal34–38 cm · Seasonal

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
GBIF taxon key: 8000602

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Christoph Moning, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Eurasian Wigeon

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery