2021 Bonanza Bird #2: Smew

Birdorable Smew

Today, a striking species of duck joins Birdorable. Our second Bonanza bird of 2021 is the Smew!

Smews are Old World ducks found in northern parts of Europe and Asia. These migratory ducks are easily recognized by the striking plumage of male birds: a white body with black stripes that look like cracks across the back, and a dark spot around the eye. Females are also beautiful, with a markedly different plumage of drab dark brown with ruddy red along the top of the head and back of the neck. Our cute Birdorable Smew is a male.

Smew ducks forage for food by diving beneath the surface where they look for small prey items like insects, frogs, and fish. They also feed on some vegetation.

Smew photo
Smew by Ryan Mandelbaum (CC BY 2.0)

Tomorrow Birdorable will go to the tropics when we add a new species of tanager to Birdorable. This bright songbird has two colors in its name, and has at least 14 recognized subspecies. Can you guess this bird?

Cute Smew Gifts

Comments

Spurwing Plover on May 26, 2022 at 7:06 AM wrote:
Whats Smew with You?

Leave a comment

Comments with links or HTML will be deleted. Your comment will be published pending approval.
Your email address will not be published

T-Shirt Tuesday: I Love Redheads

Don't you love Redheads? This week's featured t-shirt is this I Love Redheads design with our Birdorable Redhead! This medium-sized diving duck breeds in western North America and spends the winter in southern and north-eastern United States, the Great Lakes area, Mexico and the Caribbean. We...

T-Shirt Tuesday: Save the Florida Scrub-Jay

This week we'd like to highlight one of our newest designs featuring our home state and a bird that is very close to our heart. The Florida Scrub-Jay is the only endemic bird of the state of Florida and, with only a few thousand breeding pairs left,...

Bonanza Bird #16: The Bali Mynah

For 18 days we're adding a new Birdorable bird every day as part of our Birdorable Bonanza 2010. Today's bird is the beautiful Bali Mynah! The Bali Mynah is a stocky perching bird related...

Species Profile: Red-crowned Crane

This week we're celebrating the world's cranes! Crane Week highlights the 15 species of crane found around the world. Today's post is a feature on one of the most endangered species: the Red-crowned Crane. The Red-crowned Crane is named for the...