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Anas discors

(Blue Winged Teal)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Dutch:

Blauwvleugeltaling

Common Names in English:

Blue Winged Teal, August teal, blue-wing, Blue-winged Teal, summer teal, white-faced teal

Common Names in French:

Sarcelle ? ailes bleues, Sarcelle , sarcelle à ailes bleues, sarcelle à ailes bleues, Sarcelle soucrourou

Common Names in German:

Blauflügelente

Common Names in Italian:

Marzaiola americana

Common Names in Japanese:

ミカヅキシマアジ

Common Names in Spanish:

Cerceta ala azul, Cerceta aliazul

Common Names in Swedish:

Blåvingad årta

Description

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Physical Description

Adult Female: Head : brown Face : pale Eyebrow Line : pale Bill: dark gray Length : short Neck: buffy, finely streaked with dusky Throat : pale Body: Belly: whitish, mottled with dark brown Color: brown with dark chevron-shaped spots Underparts: duller than male Legs : Leg Color: yellowish.Adult Male: Head: dark blue-gray Face: Cheeks: large white crescent between eye and bil Facial Skin : yellowish Bill: dark Length: short Size: small Neck: Throat: pale Body: tawny brown with dark spotting Mantle: dark brown, scalloped with buff Underparts: reddish-brown, speckled Upperparts: pinkish buff, spotted with black Legs: Femorals: white patch Leg Color: yellowish Wings : Coverts: blue Greater Coverts: tipped white Secondaries: green.

Color:

Large gray-blue patch on the wing ; green speculum, (the group of feathers located on the inner back portion of the wing). The male has a slate-blue head with a large white crescent, a mottled-brown chest and sides, and a white patch in front of the black tail. The female is mottled brown overall.

Adult male alternate: Alternate plumage worn from early winter through early summer · Blue-gray head with darker cap · White crescent on face in front of eye · Buff breast and flanks with darker spotting · White band at rear portion of flanks · Black undertail coverts

Adult male basic: Similar to adult female, but forewing brighter

Adult female: Pale head · Dark crown and eye line · Pale eye ring , and loral spot · Mottled gray-brown body plumage with darker back

Size/Age/Growth

About 14 to 16 inches long, with a wingspan of 23 to 31 inches. Adults weigh about 14.4 ounces .

Habitat

The Blue-winged Teal uses a variety of lakes , ponds , and marshes throughout the year.

Vegetation: freshwater marshes, freshwater lakes and ponds • Maximum Elevation: 2,600 meters • Sensitivity to Disturbance: Low

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,911 meters (0 to 9,551 feet).[1]

Ecology: List of Habitats :

Biology

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Diet

The main foods of this species include seeds, other plants materials , aquatic insects, and invertebrates . It gathers food by taking food floating on the water's surface or near the surface or by "up-ending," tipping its tail end up while its head and upper body go beneath the surface to take food from aquatic vegetation.

Reproduction

The breeding season begins in early May. Nesting habitat is usually a small body of water , including small ponds , lakes , prairie pot-holes , and marshes. The nest is usually placed on the ground and hidden by vegetation. The female builds the nest of grass and other plant material . She lays 6-15 (usually 8-11) eggs that she incubates for approximately 24 days. The young are precocial and are cared for by the female. They leave the nest shortly after hatching and usually gain independence about 35-44 days after hatching.

Migration

Migratory

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 23-Jan-2007

Similar Species

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Northern Shoveler, Green-Winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal

Members of the genus Anas

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 91 species and subspecies in this genus:

A. acuta (American Pintail) · A. acuta acuta (Northern Pintail) · A. acuta drygalskii (Northern Pintail) · A. acuta eatoni (Northern Pintail) · A. americana (American Wigeon / Baldpate) · A. andium (Andean Teal) · A. aucklandica (Campbell Island Flightless Teal) · A. aucklandica aucklandica (New Zealand Brown Teal) · A. aucklandica nesiotis (Campbell Island Flightless Teal) · A. bahamensis (White-Cheeked Pintail) · A. bahamensis bahamensis (White-Cheeked Pintail) · A. bahamensis galapagensis (Galapagos Pintail) · A. bernieri (Madagascar Teal) · A. capensis (African Cape Teal) · A. carolinensis (Green-Winged Teal) · A. castanea (Chestnut-Breasted Teal) · A. chlorotis (Flightless Teal) · A. clypeata (Red-Breasted Shoveler) · A. crecca (Green-Winged Teal) · A. crecca carolinensis (Green-Winged Teal) · A. crecca crecca (Green-Winged Teal) · A. crecca nimia (Aleutian Green-Winged Teal) · A. cyanoptera (South American Teal) · A. cyanoptera cyanoptera (Cinnamon Teal) · A. cyanoptera septentrionalium (Cinnamon Teal) · A. diazi (New Mexican Duck) · A. diazi novimexicana (New Mexican Duck) · A. discors (Blue Winged Teal) · A. discors discors (Blue-Winged Teal) · A. discors orphna (Blue-Winged Teal) · A. drygalskii (Crozet Pintail) · A. eatoni (Kerguelen Pintail) · A. erythrorhyncha (Red-Billed Pintail) · A. falcata (Bronze-Capped Teal) · A. flavirostris (Yellow-Billed Teal) · A. flavirostris flavirostris (Speckled/chilean Teal) · A. formosa (Spectacled Teal) · A. formosa georgi (Spectacled Teal) · A. formosus (Spectacled Teal) · A. fulcigula (Mottled Duck) · A. fulvigula (Summer Black Duck) · A. fulvigula fulvigula (Mottled Duck) · A. fulvigula maculosa (Mottled Duck) · A. georgica (Yellow-Billed Pintail) · A. georgica georgica (Yellow-Billed Pintail) · A. gibberifrons (Sunda Teal) · A. gibberifrons gibberifrons (Sunda Teal) · A. gracilis (Grey Teal) · A. hottentota (Hottentot Teal) · A. laysanensis (Laysan Teal) · A. leucophrys (Ringed Teal) · A. luzonica (Philippine Duck) · A. marecula (Amsterdam Duck) · A. melleri (Meller's Duck) · A. nesiotis (Campbell Island Teal) · A. oustaleti (Anjouan Island Sparrow Hawk) · A. penelope (European Widgeon) · A. platalea (Argentine Shoveller) · A. platyrhynchos (Duck) · A. platyrhynchos conboschas (Mallard) · A. platyrhynchos diazi (Mallard) · A. platyrhynchos platyrhynchos (Mallard) · A. poecilorhyncha (Western Spot-Billed Duck) · A. poecilorhyncha poecilorhyncha (Indian Spot-Billed Duck) · A. puna (Puna Teal) · A. punctata (Pacific Black Duck) · A. querquedula (Garganey Teal) · A. rhynchotis (Australasian Shoveler) · A. rhynchotis rhynchotis (Australasian Shoveler) · A. rubripes (North American Black Duck) · A. sibilatrix (Southern Chiloe Wigeon) · A. smithii (Cape Shoveller) · A. sparsa (African Black Duck) · A. sparsa sparsa (African Black Duck) · A. specularioides (Crested Duck) · A. specularioides specularioides (Crested Duck) · A. specularis (Bronze-Winged Duck) · A. strepera (Common Gadwall) · A. strepera strepera (Gadwall) · A. superciliosa (Black Duck) · A. superciliosa pelewensis (Gray Duck) · A. superciliosa superciliosa (Gray Duck) · A. theodori (Mauritian Duck) · A. undulata (African Yellow-Billed Duck) · A. undulata undulata (African Yellow-Billed Duck) · A. versicolor (Versicolor Teal) · A. versicolor versicolor (Versicolor Teal) · A. waigiuensis (Salvadori's Duck) · A. waigivensis (Salvadori's Duck) · A. wyvilliana (Koloa Piwai) · A. zonorhyncha (Eastern Spot-Billed Duck)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 11, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Mean = 28.850 meters (94.652 feet), Standard Deviation = 45.340 based on 133,995 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 2012-07-18