- Where to see one
- 4 U.S. zoos in our directory hold gadwall, confirmed against each zoo's own animal list.
Conservation status
Not Evaluated
This species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List, so it sits outside the threat scale entirely.
About the gadwall
The gadwall is a common and widespread dabbling duck that breeds across northern Europe and the Palearctic and in central North America. Breeding males are patterned grey with a black rear end, chestnut wings and a bright white wing patch, while females are light brown and resemble female mallards. It favors open wetlands such as prairie lakes and marshes with dense fringing vegetation, feeding on plants with its head submerged, and it dives for food more skillfully than other dabbling ducks. The species is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range. Gadwalls are monogamous, nest on the ground and raise one brood a season.
Gadwall facts
- Gadwalls are quiet ducks, mostly vocal during courtship.
- A gadwall may steal food from diving birds such as coots.
- Roughly 1.7 million gadwalls are shot each year, making it the third most hunted duck.
- A subspecies, Coues's gadwall, was found only on Teraina atoll in the Pacific and went extinct around 1874.
Where to see gadwall in the U.S.
4 zoos across 4 states
Find the closest one
Rank the 4 zoos holding gadwall by how far they are from you. Your location is used in your browser to sort this list and is never sent to us.
District of Columbia· 1
Kansas· 1
Louisiana· 1
Oregon· 1
AZAThe Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Accredited members have passed an independent inspection of animal care and welfare, safety, conservation and education, repeated every five years. Many smaller facilities never apply, so “not accredited” isn't a verdict on its own. What accreditation means · How we check this
Built from each zoo's own published animal list.
