The blue-winged teal (Spatula discors) is a type of bird that belongs to the Anatidae family of duck, goose, and swan species. It breeds in North America, where it can be found from southern Alaska to Nova Scotia and south to northern Texas. It is one of the smaller members of the dabbling duck family. It spends the winter months in the Caribbean and Central America as well as throughout the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
Fun Facts
- The Blue-winged Teal is one of the later spring migrants to the north and one of the early fall migrants to the south.
- The Blue-winged Teal travels far during its migration. A month after being banded in Alberta, one person was shot in Venezuela.
Description
Male blue-winged teals have a blackish crest, a crescent-shaped white patch with a black border in front of their eyes, and a slate-gray head and neck. The rump has a white patch on one side, while the sides and breast are tan with dark brown speckling. The underwing is whitish, the secondaries form an iridescent green speculum, and the majority of the upper wing coverts are blue-gray. The legs and feet are golden to orange, while the bill is black. Blue-winged teal females have heads that are brownish gray with darker crowns and eye stripes
Predators
Long-tailed weasels frequently eat blue-winged teal eggs. When nesting, female teals are vulnerable to predation by raptors like bald eagles and great horned owls. Foxes, raccoons, and skunks also prey upon blue-winged teals.
Diet
The diet consists primarily of plant matter, particularly seeds of different grasses, sedges, pondweeds, smartweeds, and other plants. In some seasons, animal matter such as snails, bivalves, insects, crabs, and other creatures may be crucial to the diet.
Habitat
New ponds and marshes. On open, brackish marshes near the shore as well as shallow freshwater ponds and marshes throughout the summer. Any type of shallow waters, whether inland or coastal, during migration and winter. On occasion, flocks migrating can be seen over the ocean, many kilometers offshore.
As Pet
Blue-Winged Teals are not suitable as pets since they must migrate during the winter and, having been captured, will not be able to finish their migration. It is preferable to not capture or confine them and to leave them alone.
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