Gadwall

Anas strepera

Other Names

  Grey Duck   Canard chipeau   Schnatterente   Anade Friso   Snatterand   Krakeend   Canapiglia

World: Widespread across most of the Palearctic and Nearctic regions. Winters in small numbers in N Sudan.

Kenya: A rare straggler to southern Kenya.

As noted above this is a rare Kenyan species; the picture above was taken at a local Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in the UK. This is a fairly dull-coloured duck which can be distinguished from other species by the white wing patch on its secondaries. The female (left) may show orange sides to its bill although in some individuals the bill is uniformly grey. The male (right) is greyer than the female although it is similarly marked.