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Green-winged Teal - BirdForum Opus

(Redirected from Common Teal)
A. c. crecca
Photo © by ness123
Cley, Norfolk, 31 January 2006

Includes: Common Teal or Eurasian Teal

Anas crecca

Identification

Length 34–43cm (13½-17 in), wingspan 53–59 cm, weight 340–360 g

A. c. carolinensis
Photo © by Forcreeks
Oaks Bottom, Portland, Oregon, 11 March 2004

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
Female
Photo © by warrener
Upton Warren, Worcestershire, 14 January 2010

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

Female subspecies carolinensis
Photo © by bobsofpa
Green Cay Wetlands, Florida, USA, 4 February 2010

Subspecies

Three subspecies are accepted:1

  • A. c. creccaCommon Teal or Eurasian Teal
  • A. c. carolinensisGreen-winged Teal

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.

Photo © by markranner
Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland, 31 October 2017

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

  1. 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/
  2. 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/
  3. 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).
  4. 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
  5. Hayman, P. (2002) Birdwatchers Pocket Guide, Mitchell Beazley ISBN 1-85732-804-3
  6. Mullarney, K., L. Svensson, D. Zetterstrom & P. Grant (1999). Collins Bird Guide. Collins. ISBN 0-00-219728-6.
  7. 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
  8. Brazil, M.A. (1991) The Birds of Japan. Smithsonian Inst. Press.
  9. King, J.R. (1999) OrnithoNews: Taxonomy of Anas ducks: Green-winged Teal is a separate species. Birding World 12(6):344.

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