Gadwall
Sign in to saveThe gadwall (Mareca strepera) is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae.
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The gadwall is a common type of duck found in many places around the world that belongs to the larger family of ducks and geese. It matters because as a widespread species, it serves as an important part of wetland ecosystems and is frequently studied by bird researchers and observed by birdwatchers.
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9 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Description
- Distribution
- Behaviour
- Conservation
- Gallery
- References
- Literature cited
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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: Mareca strepera strepera (formerly Anas strepera strepera), the common gadwall, described by Linnaeus, is the nominate subspecies. M. s. couesi (formerly A. s. couesi), Coues's gadwall, extinct 1874, was formerly found only on Teraina, a coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean.