Female Gadwall are even easier to overlook than their male counterparts. Looking much like a slightly undersized Mallard with a darker bill, identification is best confirmed by the small white wing patch on their secondaries (speculum). However this white patch is often concealed behind overlapping scapulars on their folded wing as seen here. Note the orange is confined to the sides of the bill and the breast pattern is somewhat finer than on Mallard showing small buffy spotting. Also Gadwall is a smaller, slimmer bird than Mallard with a more delicate appearance, and a paler, grayer head. Look closely at the scapulars and you can see they are dark centered and that the tertials are plain gray indicating a first cycle (formative plumage) immature. Adults have scapulars with internal pale spots. Formerly uncommon in our area, this cosmopolitan species has increased dramatically in recent years. Formerly included in the genus "Anas" but transferred to "Mareca" by the AOS 58th Supplement (2017) in order to retain monophyly for "Anas."
