Smew

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Male (top) and female smew, Texel, Netherlands
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Scientific classification Edit this classification
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Binomial name
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  Breeding
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  Non-breeding
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  Passage
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Synonyms
  • Mergus albellus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Mergus minutus Linnaeus, 1758

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The smew (Mergellus albellus) is a species of duck and is the only living member of the genus Mergellus. The genus is closely related to Mergus and is sometimes included in it; genetic studies have shown that it is the sister taxon to Mergus and Lophodytes.[2] The smew has hybridised with the common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula).[3]

Taxonomy

The smew was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Mergus albellus.[4] Linnaeus based his account on the description published in 1757 by another Swedish naturalist, Fredrik Hasselqvist, who collected one in Smyrna (now İzmir) in Turkey.[5] Linnaeus specified the type locality as Europe but this was restricted to the Mediterranean near İzmir in Turkey on the basis of Hasselqvist's travels.[6] The smew is now the only living species placed in the genus Mergellus that was introduced in 1840 by the English naturalist Prideaux Selby. The species is monotypic, with no subspecies recognised.[7]

Etymology

The genus name Mergellus is a diminutive of Mergus, a Latin word related to mergo, to dive or submerge, used by Pliny for an unspecified diving bird. The specific epithet albellus is a Latin diminutive of Script error: No such module "Lang". meaning "white".[8][9]

The term smew has been used since the 17th century and is of uncertain origin. It is believed to be related to the Dutch Script error: No such module "Lang". ("wigeon") and the German Script error: No such module "Lang". or Script error: No such module "Lang"., "wild duck".[10] It is probably derived from smee, a dialectal term for a wild duck.[11][12]

Description

Mergellus albellus female, Northumberland, England

The smew is 38–44 cm (15–17 in) long,[3] with a wingspan of 56–69 cm (22–27 in), and a weight of 450–650 g (16–23 oz).[13]

Adult drake smew, with its 'cracked ice' or 'panda' appearance, is unmistakable, and looks very black-and-white in flight. The females and immature males are grey, with chestnut forehead and crown, white chin and cheeks, and black lores; they are often known as "redhead" smew. Young males moult into adult plumage late in their first winter, when about 8–10 months old; adult males have an eclipse plumage when they become similar to females, but retaining more white in the wing, in late summer and autumn.[3][14] It has oval white wing-patches in flight. The smew's bill has a hooked tip and serrated edges, which help it catch fish when it dives for them.[3]

Distribution

This species breeds in the Palearctic in the northern taiga from northern Scandinavia east to Chukotka. It needs trees for breeding. The smew lives on fish-rich lakes and slow rivers. As a migrant, it leaves its breeding areas and winters on sheltered coasts or inland lakes; in Europe in the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, northern Germany, the Low Countries, and Great Britain (mainly in southeast England but some reaching Scotland); in Asia in the Caspian Sea, in eastern China, Korea, and Japan, and a small number reaching northern India.[3] Vagrants have been recorded in northern Africa (Algeria, Egypt) and North America (Alaska, where regular in the Aleutian Islands, and Canada).[3]

Ecology

On lakes it prefers areas around the edges, often under small trees. The smew breeds in May and lays 7–11 cream-coloured eggs, incubated by the female for 26–28 days. Ducklings leave the nest soon after hatching and learn to fly within about 10 weeks.[13]

It nests in tree holes, such as old woodpecker nests. It is a shy bird and flushes easily when disturbed.

The smew is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. It is not considered threatened on the IUCN Red List, though its population is decreasing.[1]

Fossil history

Subfossils from this species have been found in the Early Pleistocene of West Runton, England.[15]

  • Male taking off, Helsinki, Finland
    Male taking off, Helsinki, Finland
  • Male, Japan
    Male, Japan
  • Male in flight, Japan
    Male in flight, Japan
  • Female, England
    Female, England
  • ID composite
    ID composite
  • Smew eggs, from Suomussalmi, Finland, at the Muséum de Toulouse
    Smew eggs, from Suomussalmi, Finland, at the Muséum de Toulouse

References

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  1. ^ a b Template:Cite iucn
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Buckner, Janet C.; Ellingson, Ryan; Gold, David A.; Jones, Terry L.; Jacobs, David K. (2018). "Mitogenomics supports an unexpected taxonomic relationship for the extinct diving duck Chendytes lawi and definitively places the extinct Labrador Duck" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 122: 102–109. Bibcode:2018MolPE.122..102B. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.12.008. PMID 29247849. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Madge, Steve; Burn, Hilary (1992). Wildfowl. London: Helm. pp. 112, 274–276. ISBN 0-7136-3647-5.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 129.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hasselqvist, Fredrik (1757). Iter Palæstinum, eller Resa til Heliga Landet, förrättad ifrån år 1749 til 1752: med beskrifnigar, rön, anmärkingar, öfver de märkvärdigaste naturalier, på Hennes Kongl. Maj.ts befallning (in Swedish and Latin). Stockholm: Trykt på L. Salvii kåstnad. pp. 269–270, No. 37.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 497.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "Screamers, ducks, geese & swans". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."A smaller Latin-English dictionary : abridged from the larger dictionary: Smith, William". Internet Archive. 2016-10-23. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 251, 38. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."smew - Definition of smew in English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries - English. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."What is smee duck". findwords.info.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Smee definition and meaning - Collins English Dictionary". www.collinsdictionary.com.
  13. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Smew, Mergellus albellus - Birds - NatureGate". www.luontoportti.com. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Svensson, Lars; Mullarney, Killian; Zetterstroem, Dan (2023-03-16). Collins Bird Guide. William Collins. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-00-854746-2.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mlíkovský, Jiří (2002). Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe (PDF). Prague: Ninox Press. p. 123. Template:ISBN. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2016.

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