Irish Birds -- Wigeon- Pupils Work

Wigeon (Rualacha) 44p

The Wigeon is a greyish duck with a long white mark along its side. The Wigeon comes from Scandinavia, Russia and Iceland to spend the winter in Ireland. About 4,000 birds visit the North Bull Island near Dublin each winter. There are over 100,000 of them in Ireland for the winter. There is a small breeding population in Ireland. They feed on green algae which is a type of seaweed. It can be also seen feeding on grasses like a goose.

The male bird has a cream coloured crown and forehead his head is chestnut his back and sides are silver, grey and his bill is blue, grey with a black tip.

The female Wigeon has a small bill a high forehead and is mostly brown in colour.

The call of the drake is a loud whistle.It is hard to tell what the bird os from the stamp as the name is written in Latin and in Irish. An Post should have written the names in English so ordinary people could understand or know each bird.

Issued on May 23rd. 1998 as part of the "Flors and Fauna " series

Written by --: Matthew Higgins

Click on the stamp to hear the sound of the bird