This is bird note.

When you first glimpse a male gadwall, a type of duck, you might think you're looking at a female mallard.

But take a closer look and you'll see plumage as rich and subtly colored as an English gentleman's tweed jacket.

This dabbling duck of Martian pond is a beauty. Long a duck of the Western prairies, the Gadwall expanded its range and now breeds all across the United States.

Its populations have flourished with the return of favorable conditions in the Northern Great Plains.

The protection of wetlands helped, as did also, unfortunately, the invasion of the

Eurasian water milfoil plant, one of the Gadwall's favorite foods.

The Gadwall breeds across much of Europe and into the Ukraine,

wintering in southern Sudan and Middle Eastern countries,

including Iraq and Iran.

In the US, some Gadwalls migrate,

but others remain through the winter.

You can probably see one of these handsome birds on a pond or a marsh near you.

Some may even breed in your neighborhood. Find out when you visit our website

Birdnote.org.