Includes: Common Teal or Eurasian Teal
- Anas crecca
Identification
Length 34–43cm (13½-17 in), wingspan 53–59 cm, weight 340–360 g
Male
- Green speculum on secondaries
- Grey body with black vermiculations
- Chestnut head and neck
- Dark green patch before eye to hindneck, outlined in yellowish line
- Black and white horizontal stripe on tertial edges on A. c. crecca
- Vertical white stripe on forward edge of flank on A. c. carolinensis
- Buff, brown spotted breast
- White belly
- Black tail
- Yellow sides to undertail
- Dark grey bill and feet
- Brown iris
Female
- Green speculum on secondaries
- Brown body with dark streaks and mottling
- Dark greyish-brown head, neck and eyestripe
- Pink based bill, grey towards tip
- Greyish-olive feet
- Brown iris
Similar Species
Female somewhat similar to a small female Garganey or Blue-winged Teal, most easily distinguishable by pale line under the tail edge and smaller bill.
Distribution
Widespread throughout Eurasia, Africa (except the south), North and Central America
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Three subspecies are accepted:1
- A. c. crecca — Common Teal or Eurasian Teal
- breeds in Palearctic (Iceland south to France, east to eastern Siberia) and the [[Aleutian Islands]; winters from southern and central Europe east to Japan, south to Africa (south to Senegambia, Central African Republic, and Kenya), south Asia, and southeast Asia.
- A. c. carolinensis — Green-winged Teal
- North America; winters to Mexico and West Indies
- Sometimes recognised as a separate species, A. carolinensis2; taxonomy still in much of debate as genetically, this subspecies seems to be more closely related to Andean Teal and Yellow-billed Teal than to nominate A. c. crecca.
Habitat
Freshwater wetlands, reedbeds, small lakes and ponds.
Behaviour
Flight
Explosive vertical take-off when startled.
Diet
Their diet is varied and includes insects, larvae, worms, molluscs and crustaceans and vegetation including seeds.
Breeding
It is a ground nester, nesting in a hollow lined with leaves and down feathers, near water. The 8-11 eggs are incubated for 21-23 days. The young fledge 25-30 days later.
Vocalisation
Call: male, a clear, far-reaching, whistle; female a "krik" sound.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F & D Donsker (Eds). 2019. IOC World Bird List (v9.1). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.9.1. Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Carboneras, C., Christie, D.A. & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Common Teal (Anas crecca). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/52868 on 24 April 2019).
- Johnson, K. (1995). Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.193
- Hayman, P. (2002) Birdwatchers Pocket Guide, Mitchell Beazley ISBN 1-85732-804-3
- Mullarney, K., L. Svensson, D. Zetterstrom & P. Grant (1999). Collins Bird Guide. Collins. ISBN 0-00-219728-6.
- Wikipedia contributors. (2018, October 29). Green-winged teal. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 09:45, December 5, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Green-winged_teal&oldid=866285187
- Brazil, M.A. (1991) The Birds of Japan. Smithsonian Inst. Press.
- King, J.R. (1999) OrnithoNews: Taxonomy of Anas ducks: Green-winged Teal is a separate species. Birding World 12(6):344.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Green-winged Teal. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 9 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Green-winged_Teal
External Links
Search specifically for Green-winged Teal:
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