Wigeon

Wigeon

Anas penelope
[Linnaeus, 1758]

Now, then. The wigeon. One of my two favourite ducks  - the other being the goldeneye.

Why do I like the wigeon so much? I'm not sure to be honest but they're very pretty ducks and very impressive. I love the sound of wigeon also - all that nasal whinnying and whistling - they're great fun to watch.

The wigeon has a scientific name rooted in classical mythology - something I certainly appreciate (always have) and a subject that I'll return to many times I expect (especially when I start to explain the scientific names of our lepidoptera).

We've seen before that Anas means duck in Latin, but what does Penelope mean or where does the name Penelope come from - does Anas Penelope mean "Penelope's duck" and who, if that is true, was "Penelope"?

Penelope in classical Greek mythology was the wife of the hero Odysseus. Penelope was celebrated for her faithfulness and patience.
For the 20 years that her husband was away during and after the Trojan War (think Homer's "Odyssey"), Penelope remained true to him and helped prevent his kingdom from falling into other hands.
Penelope's parents were Prince Icarius of Sparta and the nymph Periboea.
Periboea hid her infant daughter (Penelope) as soon as she was born, knowing that Icarius had wanted a son.
As soon as Icarius discovered the baby girl, he threw her into the sea to drown.
However, a family of ducks rescued her.
Seeing this as an omen, Icarius named the child Penelope (after the Greek word for penelops meaning "duck") and raised her as his favourite child.

I'm sure the wigeon was arbitrarily given the title of the duck that saved Penelope from drowning (it could have been any species after all), but that matters not I guess.

So.... the specific name for the wigeon literally means "the saviour of Penelope" and originates in penelops, as described above.


Maybe that's why the wigeon is one of my (if not my) favourite ducks - with a name rooted in classical Greek mythology and named after a character in one of my favourite stories of all time ("The Odyssey").

I've been lucky enough to visit the fabled home of Odysseus, twice (in fact that's where I proposed to my wife) and we hope to return one day. I may take my moth-eaten copy of "The Odyssey" to read once again, on the beautiful beaches of the green Greek island of Kephalonia...


Anyway.... I'm rambling.

The scientific name for the wigeon, a mixture of Latin and Greek, literally means:

"Duck  - duck (that saved Penelope in classical Greek myth)".

 

Shoveler

Shoveler

Anas clypeata
[Linnaeus, 1758]

The shoveler is, depending on what your take on it is, either a strangely named duck (scientifically-speaking) or quite aptly named.

Anas means duck in Latin and clypeata literally means "shield-bearing" (from the Latin clypeus, "shield").

Many people think of the shoveler's shield being the male's obvious white breast but I can't help thinking that the shield is more indicative of the broad shield-like bill of both sexes.

You'll call it as you see fit of course, but in any case, the Latin scientific name for shoveler literally means:
"shield-bearing duck".

Pintail

Pintail

Anas acuta
[Linnaeus, 1758]

The (northern) pintail is a very elegant waterfowl and once was probably the most numerous duck species in the world.
It has a very obvious set of elongated central tail feathers which not only give it its English-speakers' common name of pintail but also its scientific name.

Anas means "duck" in Latin.
acutus literally means "sharp or pointed" in Latin (think of an acute angle or acute appendicitis...)

So, the (northern) pintail's scientific name literally means  "sharp (or pointed) duck".

Gadwall

Gadwall

Anas strepera

[Linnaeus, 1758]

The gadwall is a strangely-named duck in my opinion. Firstly, no-one seems to know where the word "gadwall" actually comes from and secondly it has a pretty poor scientific name.

Anas means "duck" in Latin (which is fair enough I suppose) but streperus means "noisy" in Latin - and this is where I must have missed something when watching these very subtly-beautiful waterfowl.

I would hardly describe the gadwall as a "noisy duck" but that's the literal meaning of its scientific name. Gadwalls are particularly quiet until they start to breed and then, whereas the much noisier (most of the time) mallard goes all quiet (and starts ducking and bobbing) when breeding, the gadwall at least has a mating call (a "nheck" and "whistle")

So yes, I guess the male gadwall does (somewhat) noisily announce his readiness for mating but other than that, I'd not say they're a noisy waterfowl at all...