Summary ⁷

The Eurasian teal or common teal (Anas crecca) is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurasia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range. The bird gives its name to the blue-green colour teal.

Description of anas crecca ⁸

Het mannetje heeft een rood-en-groene kop en het vrouwtje is vrijwel totaal bruin.

Distribution ⁹

Green-winged Teals breed throughout most of Canada, Alaska, Maine, N. Dakota, Minnesota, and Northern Michigan. Their wintering range includes the western United States, Mexico, and the southern United States. Two other subspecies of the Teal, A. c. crecca and A. c. nimia, can be found in Eurasia and the Aleutian Islands.

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )

Morphology ¹⁰

The Teal is the smallest dabbling duck in the Americas. Its bill is narrow and black. Teals are sexually dimorphic. Males have a cinnamon colored head with an iridescent green crescent spanning from one eye, around the back of the head, to the other eye. The sides and back are actually marked with tiny black and white stripes, although they appear grey. Their wings and tail are a tannish-brown color, with pale yellow feathers along the side of the tail. Females are entirely tannish-brown, except for their white chin and belly.

Range mass: 318 to 364 g.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry

Average basal metabolic rate: 1.68388 W.

Description ¹¹

Length: 34-38 cm. Plumage: above and below vermiculated grey; head chestnut with irridescent green band from lores to nape; breast cream to buff, speckled black; under-tail coverts cream. Eclipse male and female mottled brown with greyish eyeline; Immature resembles female. Bare parts: iris brown; bill grey with flesh colour at base of maxilla; feet and legs slate grey. Habitat: occassionally sea and coastal waters; inland waters with floating vegetation.<388><391>

Habitat ¹²

Teals prefer shallow inland wetlands, beaver ponds, and coastal marshes with heavy vegetation and muddy bottoms. These habitats are often found in deciduous parklands, boreal forests, grasslands, or sedge meadows.

Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest

Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds

Migration ¹³

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Begins slowly migrating northward in March-April; arrives in Beaufort Sea area late May-early June. Generally departs from northernmost breeding areas August-September. Usually migrates southward in large flocks with first cold fall weather. Rare in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, October-April (Raffaele 1983).

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Mark Kilner, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/60298464@N00/3254016122
2. (c) Aaron Maizlish, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8046/8133891324_a653089b16_o.jpg
3. (c) oldbilluk, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2787/4458844270_ae051a3d10.jpg
4. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/photos/sdl-anas-crecca-00005.jpg
5. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/photos/jcs-anas-crecca-55998.jpg
6. (c) oldbilluk, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5288/5202302350_e459fa6173.jpg
7. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anas_crecca
8. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/5697511
9. (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31376954
10. (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31376956
11. (c) WoRMS for SMEBD, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/32054436
12. (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31376955
13. (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28816270

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CalPhotos
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• NBN Atlas
• VertNet
• Xeno-canto
• 日本のレッドデータ検索システム

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