Editing 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
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Mergellus albellus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22680465A85991357 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22680465A85991357.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Mergellus
| parent_authority =
| species = albellus
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| synonyms = *''Mergus albellus'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
*''Mergus minutus'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;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 [[Monotypic taxon|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 [[goldeneye (duck)|goldeneyes]] (''Bucephala'').<ref name=Livezey1986/> The smew has hybridized with the [[common goldeneye]] (''B. clangula'').<ref name=Madge/>

==Etymology==
The smew was [[Species description|formally described]] in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Mergus albellus''.<ref>{{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 }}</ref> Linnaeus based his account on the description published in 1757 by another Swedish naturalist, [[Fredrik Hasselqvist]].<ref>{{ 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 }}<!--All scans are missing pages 210-229--></ref> Linnaeus specified the [[type locality (biology)|type locality]] as Europe but this was restricted to the Mediterranean near [[İzmir]] in Turkey.<ref>{{ 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 }}</ref> The smew is now the only living species placed in the [[genus]] ''[[Mergellus]]'' that was introduced in 1840 by the English naturalist [[Prideaux John Selby|Prideaux Selby]]. The species is [[monotypic]]: no [[subspecies]] are recognised.<ref name=ioc>{{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 }}</ref> 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".<ref>{{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]}}</ref>

The term ''smew'' has been used since the 17th century and is of uncertain origin. It is believed to be related to the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''smient'' ("[[wigeon]]") and the German ''Schmeiente'' or '' Schmünte'', "wild duck."<ref>{{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}}</ref> It is probably derived from ''smee'', a dialectal term for a wild duck.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://findwords.info/term/smee+duck|title=What is smee duck|website=findwords.info}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/smee|title=Smee definition and meaning - Collins English Dictionary|website=www.collinsdictionary.com}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Spinus-smew-2014-11-n019832-w.jpg|thumb|left|''Mergellus albellus'' female (closeup view).]]
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,<ref name=Madge/> with a wingspan of 56–69&nbsp;cm, and a weight 450–650 g.<ref name=":0">{{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}}</ref>

==Distribution and ecology==
[[File:MergellusAlbellusTakeOffv3.jpg|left|thumb|Smew taking off]]
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 (headland)|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.<ref name=":0" />

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.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />

==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.<ref name="Mlíkovský123"/>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200px" heights="150px">
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]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=Livezey1986>{{cite journal |last=Livezey |first=Bradley C. |year=1986 |title=A phylogenetic analysis of recent anseriform genera using morphological characters |journal=[[Auk (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}}</ref>

<ref name=Madge>{{Cite book |last1=Madge |first1=Steve |last2=Burn |first2=Hilary |title=Waterfowl: An Identification Guide to the Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=1988 |location=Boston |isbn=0-395-46727-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/waterfowl00stev/page/274 274–276] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/waterfowl00stev/page/274 }}</ref>

<ref name="Mlíkovský123">{{cite book |last=Mlíkovský |first=Jiří  |year=2002 |title=Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe |publisher=Ninox Press |location=Prague |id={{Listed Invalid ISBN |80-901105-3-8}} |url=http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411215341/http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf|archive-date=11 April 2016 |page=123}}<!-- This should be treated with extreme caution as regards merging of species. Splits are usually good though. See also critical review in Auk121:623-627 here http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3793/is_200404/ai_n9396879 --></ref>}}

==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}}

[[Category:Mergansers]]
[[Category:Birds of Europe]]
[[Category:Birds of Russia]]
[[Category:Birds of North Asia]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]