From Opus

Anas cyanoptera

Photo by Fulmar
Breeding adult male
Upper Newport Bay, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, USA.

Photo by Fulmar
Female type bird
Location: Adobe Creek, Mountain View, California

[edit] Identification

Small dabbling duck.

[edit] Adult Male

• Cinnamon-red head and body
• Brown back
• Red eye
• Dark bill

[edit] Adult Female

• Mottled brown body
• Pale brown head
• Brown eyes
• Grey bill

[edit] Similar Species

Female very similar to female Blue-winged Teal

[edit] Distribution

Western North and South America. They are migratory and most winter in Central and South America, generally not migrating as far as the Blue-winged Teal. Occurs as vagrants in the Caribbean.

[edit] Taxonomy

It is usually placed in genus Anas, most closely allied to the shovelers and Blue-winged Teal. These species are sometimes separated into a distinct genus Spatula.

Subspecies¹ are A. c. septentrionalium (Northern Cinnamon Teal), A. c. tropica (Tropical Cinnamon Teal), A. c. borreroi (Borrero's Cinnamon Teal), A. c. orinomus (Andean Cinnamon Teal) and A. c. cyanoptera (Argentine Cinnamon Teal). Borrero's Cinnamon Teal, located only in the highlands of Columbia, is possibly extinct.

[edit] Habitat

Marshes and ponds

[edit] Behavior

[edit] Breeding

Generally select new mates each year.

[edit] Diet

These birds feed by dabbling. They mainly eat plants; their diet may include molluscs and aquatic insects.

[edit] References

1. Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019

[edit] External Links