smew
{{short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Smew
| image = Zwergsaeger_maenchen_weibchen.jpg
| image_caption = Male (top) and female smew
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Mergellus
| parent_authority =
| species = albellus
| authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)
| synonyms = *Mergus albellus {{small|Linnaeus, 1758}}
- Mergus minutus {{small|Linnaeus, 1758}}
| range_map = MergellusAlbellusIUCNver2018 2.png
| range_map_caption = Range of M. albellus{{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#00FFFF|Passage|outline=gray}}
}}
The smew (Mergellus albellus) is a species of duck and is the only living member of the genus Mergellus. Mergellus is a diminutive of Mergus and albellus is from Latin albus "white". This genus is closely related to Mergus and is sometimes included in it, though it might be closer to the goldeneyes (Bucephala). The smew has hybridized with the common goldeneye (B. clangula).
Etymology
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.{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=129 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727034 }} Linnaeus based his account on the description published in 1757 by another Swedish naturalist, Fredrik Hasselqvist.{{ cite book | last=Hasselqvist | first=Fredrik | author1-link=Fredrik Hasselqvist | date=1757 | title=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 | language=Swedish, Latin | location=Stockholm | publisher=Trykt på L. Salvii kåstnad | pages=269-270, No. 37 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49678545 }} Linnaeus specified the type locality as Europe but this was restricted to the Mediterranean near İzmir in Turkey.{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Cottrell | editor2-first=G. William | year=1979 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=1 | edition=2nd | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=497 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16109137 }} 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: no subspecies are recognised.{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=December 2023 | title=Screamers, ducks, geese & swans | work=IOC World Bird List Version 14.1 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/waterfowl/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=2 July 2024 }} The genus name is the Latin word for an unknown seabird, perhaps a cormorant. The specific epithet albellus is a Latin diminutive of albus meaning "white".{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n251/mode/1up 251], [https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n38/mode/1up 38]}}
The term smew has been used since the 17th century and is of uncertain origin. It is believed to be related to the Dutch smient ("wigeon") and the German Schmeiente or Schmünte, "wild duck."{{cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/smew|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229075440/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/smew|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 29, 2018|title=smew - Definition of smew in English by Oxford Dictionaries|website=Oxford Dictionaries - English}} It is probably derived from smee, a dialectal term for a wild duck.{{Cite web|url=https://findwords.info/term/smee+duck|title=What is smee duck|website=findwords.info}}{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/smee|title=Smee definition and meaning - Collins English Dictionary|website=www.collinsdictionary.com}}
Description
File:Spinus-smew-2014-11-n019832-w.jpg
The 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 birds with chestnut foreheads and crowns, and can be confused at a distance with the ruddy duck; they are often known as "redhead" smew. 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.
The smew is {{convert|38|-|44|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, with a wingspan of 56–69 cm, and a weight 450–650 g.{{Cite web|title=Smew, Mergellus albellus - Birds - NatureGate|url=http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/linnut/smew|access-date=2020-09-25|website=www.luontoportti.com}}
Distribution and ecology
File:MergellusAlbellusTakeOffv3.jpg
This species breeds in the northern taiga of Europe and the Palearctic. 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 of the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, northern Germany and the Low Countries, with a small number reaching Great Britain (for example, at Dungeness), mostly at regular sites. Vagrants have been recorded in North America. On lakes it prefers areas around the edges, often under small trees. The smew breeds in May and lays 7–11 cream-colored eggs, incubated by the female for 26–28 days. Ducklings leave the nest soon after hatching and learn to fly within about 10 weeks.
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.
Fossil history
Subfossils from this species are also found in the Early Pleistocene of West Runton, England indicate that the living species' range extended there a few thousand years ago.
Gallery
File:Smew RWD1.jpg | Male
File:Smew female RWD5.jpg|Female
File:Smew from the Crossley ID Guide Britain and Ireland.jpg|ID composite
Mergellus albellus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.33.1.jpg| Mergellus albellus - MHNT
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{cite journal |last=Livezey |first=Bradley C. |year=1986 |title=A phylogenetic analysis of recent anseriform genera using morphological characters |journal=Auk |volume=103 |issue=4 |pages=737–754 |doi=10.1093/auk/103.4.737 |url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v103n04/p0737-p0754.pdf |jstor=4088089}}
External links
{{Commons category|Mergellus albellus}}
{{Wikispecies|Mergellus albellus}}
- {{BirdLife|22680465|Mergellus albellus}}
- {{Avibase|name=Mergellus albellus}}
- {{InternetBirdCollection|smew-mergus-albellus}}
- {{VIREO|smew}}
- {{IUCN_Map|22680465/166210547|Mergellus albellus}}
- {{Xeno-canto species|Mergellus|albellus|Smew}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q200646}}