Wigeon Call MP3s
Instantly recognizable by the drake's shrill whistle, the Eurasian Wigeon is a popular grazing duck on coastal marshes and inland pasture across its migratory range. These tracks reproduce that distinctive call for field use or identification.
Also known as
Recordings (5)
About this species
A duck of the Anatidae family measuring roughly 47 cm, the Wigeon (Mareca penelope) is unmistakable — the male showing a russet head topped by a buttery-cream crown stripe and pink-grey breast. In winter it gathers on coastal grasslands, estuaries and flooded pasture.
The drake's clear, far-carrying 'whee-oo' whistle is one of the evocative sounds of winter wetlands. It grazes grass, eelgrass and waste grain, often well away from open water. Sociable and largely vegetarian, it grazes in dense flocks on coastal grass and floods. Its far-ranging populations link the breeding lakes of northern Europe with the wintering wetlands of the Mediterranean and North Africa.
Legal use
The Eurasian Wigeon is a widespread Palearctic species that is legally hunted as game across much of the EU (Birds Directive Annex II) and UK, and in parts of its wintering range in North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. It falls under the international AEWA framework, which covers most Eurasian waterbirds — including many that remain legally huntable — and sets guidance for sustainable-harvest management rather than blanket protection. The species is currently assessed as Least Concern with a large population, and is not subject to the kind of restrictions affecting some diving ducks, though individual countries set their own seasons and bag limits. Rules vary by country and can change between seasons, so confirm current local regulations before hunting; see our full country-by-country disclaimer for details.