American Wigeon

The adult males are the easiest to identify, with their white, rather than orange, crowns and a broad green stripe through the eye, tapering to the nape. From a distance this can look like a black eye patch, contrasting markedly with the white forehead. Females and juveniles look much more similar to our Wigeon but they too can often show a strong hint of a dark eye patch. The rest of the head is paler and greyer than on a European Wigeon, so look out too for a contrast between the grey head and a rufous breast. To clinch the identification wait for the bird to flap its wings and look for a strikingly clean white