HUNTING HORIZONS - Worldwide Hunting Seasons Database

The Gadwall [Anas strepera] is a common and widespread migratory, dabbling duck. Their range includes the northern spheres of Europe, Asia and North America. Its winter range includes the southern United States and Central America.
LENGTH: 46-56 cm WEIGHT: 850-990 g WINGSPAN: 78-90 cm
MALE: The breeding male is patterned grey, with a black rear end, light chestnut wings, and a brilliant white speculum, obvious in flight or at rest. In non-breeding plumage, the drake looks more like the female, but retains the male wing pattern, and is usually greyer above and has less orange on the bill.
FEMALE: The female is light brown, with dark orange-edged bill, white speculum, and white belly.
HABITAT: The Gadwall is a bird of open wetlands, wet grassland or marshes with dense fringing vegetation in both fresh and brackish water as breading habitats; it nests on the ground, often some distance from water. They tend to be more abundant on small prairie marshes than in temporary water areas, deep marshes, and open water marshes. They generally avoid wetlands that are bordered by woodlands or thick vegetation. In the winter they prefer the brackish water marshes with abundant leafy aquatic vegetation.
It is not as gregarious as some dabbling ducks outside the breeding season and tends to form only small flocks.
FEEDING: The young birds are fed insects at first; adult usually feed by dabbling for plant food with head submerged and also eat some molluscs and insects during the nesting season.
CALL: This is a fairly quiet species; the male has a hoarse whistling call, and the female has a Mallard-like quack.
FLIGHT: In flight, all Gadwall have white bellies and a diagnostic square white patch in the inner secondaries.