Smew (Anas penelope) belongs to the duck genus, but its rounded head, in shape, resembles diving ducks such as the canvasback (Aythya nyroca) or tufted duck (A. ferina). It is 45 to 51 cm long, and its wingspan measures 75 to 86 cm. The male is beautifully colored, and in nuptial plumage we cannot confuse it with any other species. The female is brown, camouflaged in color, and, at least from a distance, can be mistaken for females of other duck species.
The male has a yellow-tinged forehead and crown visible from afar, while the rest of the head is chestnut brown. His back and sides are grey, he has a dirty pink-toned chest and a white belly. Also characteristic is a broad white band on the wings, just above the metallic green speculum, and some white also in front of his black tail. The beak is bluish-grey with a black tip.
The female is less conspicuously colored. Her flanks, chest, neck and head are dark brown. The head is adorned with fine black speckles, which around the eyes coalesce into a darker mask. The wings are gray, brown and black, and at the tail there is some dirty white color. The female also has a bluish-black bill with a black tip, by which, in good light, we can distinguish her from other species.
The whistling duck takes its name from the melodic whistles of the males, which on lakes surrounded by reeds or grasslands in the far north call to the female with a short uiiiu! The majority of whistling ducks breed in Russia and Scandinavia, a portion of the population also in Great Britain and the USA. From the breeding areas it withdraws before winter to warmer regions in Asia, Africa and the Mediterranean. It winters on lowland lakes or floodplains and on muddy coastal shores. The whistling duck is a sociable herbivorous bird that often grazes in large flocks, much like geese, on the grasslands by lakes and rivers.
It nests in May and June mainly far to the north, but in our country you can observe it during migration or in winter, as it is a common winter visitor here.
