Grey Teal

Photo by Neil Fifer
Sydney, Australia, February 2004

Anas gracilis

Identification

37–47 cm
Adults

• Light grey-brown
• Pale grey cheeks, chin, and neck
• Bill blue-grey
• Red eye
• Speculum shiny dark green in flight

Similar Species

Female Chestnut Teal

Distribution

Asia and Australasia: found from New Guinea to Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand

Ducklings
Photo by Rookery
Te Awanga, New Zealand, October 2014

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Two subspecies recognized:

• A. g. gracilis from New Guinea to Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand
• A. g. remissa formerly on Rennell Island (Solomon Islands), extinct ca 1959

remissa was formerly included in Sunda Teal.

Habitat

Varied, almost any wetlands, from suburban lakes to coastal lagoons also uses temporary floodwaters of interior.

Behaviour

Diet

Their main diet consists of seeds and aquatic vegetation, grass and sedges; supplemented by small invertebrates and insects.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2014. IOC World Bird Names (version 4.3). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
3. Avibase
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved April 2015)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Grey Teal. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grey_Teal

External Links

Search for photos of Grey Teal in the gallery