Teal
The Eurasian Teal or Common Teal is often called simply the Teal due to being the only one of these small Anas dabbling ducks in much of its range. The Teal is the smallest dabbling duck at 7.9 to 11.8 inches in length and with a wingspan of 21 to 23 inches.
From a distance, the male Teal in breeding plumage appears grey with a dark head, a yellowish behind and a white stripe running along the flanks. Their head and upper neck is chestnut with a wide and iridescent dark green patch of half-moon or teardrop-shape that starts immediately before the eye and arcs to the upper hindneck. This patch is bordered with thin yellowish-white lines and a single line of that colour extends from the patch's forward end and curving along the base of the bill. The breast is buff with small round brown spots. The centre of the belly is white and the rest of the body plumage is mostly white with thin and dense blackish vermiculations, appearing medium grey even at a short distance. The outer scapular feathers are white with a black border to the outer vanes and these form the white side-stripe when the bird is in resting position. The tail and tail coverts are black with a bright yellowish-buff triangular patch in the centre of the coverts at each side. In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the male looks more like the female. It is more uniform in colour with a dark head and vestigial facial markings.
The female Teal is yellowish-brown but somewhat darker on the wings and back. It has a dark greyish-brown upper head, hindneck, eyestripe and feather pattern. The pattern is dense short streaks on the head and neck and scaly spots on the rest of the body. Overall it looks much like a tiny Mallard. Immatures are coloured much like the adult females but they have a stronger pattern. The downy young are coloured like other dabbling ducks, brown above and yellow below with a yellow supercilium.
The male's bill is dark grey but in the eclipse plumage it often shows some light greenish or brownish hue at the base. The bill of the females and immatures is pinkish or yellowish at the base, becoming dark grey towards the tip. The feet are dark grey in the males and greyish olive or greyish-brown in females and immatures.
The Teal breeds across north Eurasia where it occupies sheltered freshwater wetlands with some tall vegetation such as taiga bogs or small lakes and ponds with extensive reedbeds. It mostly winters well south of its breeding range in the Mediterranean region, south Asia and some parts of Africa where it is often seen in large flocks in brackish waters and even in sheltered inlets and lagoons along the seashore. It is also regularly recorded on the north American coasts south to California and South Carolina. In the milder climate of temperate Europe, such as in the UK, the summer and winter ranges overlap.
In the UK, the Teal can be found all year round but it is thinly distributed as a breeding species. In winter, birds congregate in larger numbers on low-lying wetlands both on the coast and inland in the south and west of the UK. Of these, many are continental birds from around the Baltic and Siberia. At this time, the UK is home to a significant percentage of the north west European wintering population.
The Teal is much less abundant than the very similar Green-winged Teal from north America although it is still common and widespread. It appears to be holding its own currently with perhaps a slow decline due to drainage and pollution of wetlands. The IUCN and BirdLife International classify the Teal as a species of “Least Concern”. However, it is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
The Teal nests on the ground near water. Pairs form in the winter range and arrive on the breeding range together from about March. Breeding starts some weeks thereafter and not until May in the most northerly locations. The nest is a deep hollow lined with dry leaves and down feathers which is built in dense vegetation near water. After the females have started laying their eggs, the males leave them and move away and assemble in flocks on particular lakes where they moult into their eclipse plumage. The female lays 5 to 16 eggs but usually 8 to 11. Incubation lasts for 21 to 23 days and the young leave the nest soon after hatching and are cared for by the female for about 25 to 30 days. The males and the females with young generally move to the winter range separately. After the first winter, the young moult in to their adult plumage.
The Teal usually feeds by dabbling, upending or grazing. In the breeding season it eats mainly aquatic invertebrates, such as crustaceans, insects and their larvae, molluscs and worms. In winter, it shifts to a largely granivorous diet, feeding on seeds of aquatic plants and grasses including sedges and grains.
Date: 10th January 2019
Location: RSPB Greylake, Somerset
From a distance, the male Teal in breeding plumage appears grey with a dark head, a yellowish behind and a white stripe running along the flanks. Their head and upper neck is chestnut with a wide and iridescent dark green patch of half-moon or teardrop-shape that starts immediately before the eye and arcs to the upper hindneck. This patch is bordered with thin yellowish-white lines and a single line of that colour extends from the patch's forward end and curving along the base of the bill. The breast is buff with small round brown spots. The centre of the belly is white and the rest of the body plumage is mostly white with thin and dense blackish vermiculations, appearing medium grey even at a short distance. The outer scapular feathers are white with a black border to the outer vanes and these form the white side-stripe when the bird is in resting position. The tail and tail coverts are black with a bright yellowish-buff triangular patch in the centre of the coverts at each side. In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the male looks more like the female. It is more uniform in colour with a dark head and vestigial facial markings.
The female Teal is yellowish-brown but somewhat darker on the wings and back. It has a dark greyish-brown upper head, hindneck, eyestripe and feather pattern. The pattern is dense short streaks on the head and neck and scaly spots on the rest of the body. Overall it looks much like a tiny Mallard. Immatures are coloured much like the adult females but they have a stronger pattern. The downy young are coloured like other dabbling ducks, brown above and yellow below with a yellow supercilium.
The male's bill is dark grey but in the eclipse plumage it often shows some light greenish or brownish hue at the base. The bill of the females and immatures is pinkish or yellowish at the base, becoming dark grey towards the tip. The feet are dark grey in the males and greyish olive or greyish-brown in females and immatures.
The Teal breeds across north Eurasia where it occupies sheltered freshwater wetlands with some tall vegetation such as taiga bogs or small lakes and ponds with extensive reedbeds. It mostly winters well south of its breeding range in the Mediterranean region, south Asia and some parts of Africa where it is often seen in large flocks in brackish waters and even in sheltered inlets and lagoons along the seashore. It is also regularly recorded on the north American coasts south to California and South Carolina. In the milder climate of temperate Europe, such as in the UK, the summer and winter ranges overlap.
In the UK, the Teal can be found all year round but it is thinly distributed as a breeding species. In winter, birds congregate in larger numbers on low-lying wetlands both on the coast and inland in the south and west of the UK. Of these, many are continental birds from around the Baltic and Siberia. At this time, the UK is home to a significant percentage of the north west European wintering population.
The Teal is much less abundant than the very similar Green-winged Teal from north America although it is still common and widespread. It appears to be holding its own currently with perhaps a slow decline due to drainage and pollution of wetlands. The IUCN and BirdLife International classify the Teal as a species of “Least Concern”. However, it is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
The Teal nests on the ground near water. Pairs form in the winter range and arrive on the breeding range together from about March. Breeding starts some weeks thereafter and not until May in the most northerly locations. The nest is a deep hollow lined with dry leaves and down feathers which is built in dense vegetation near water. After the females have started laying their eggs, the males leave them and move away and assemble in flocks on particular lakes where they moult into their eclipse plumage. The female lays 5 to 16 eggs but usually 8 to 11. Incubation lasts for 21 to 23 days and the young leave the nest soon after hatching and are cared for by the female for about 25 to 30 days. The males and the females with young generally move to the winter range separately. After the first winter, the young moult in to their adult plumage.
The Teal usually feeds by dabbling, upending or grazing. In the breeding season it eats mainly aquatic invertebrates, such as crustaceans, insects and their larvae, molluscs and worms. In winter, it shifts to a largely granivorous diet, feeding on seeds of aquatic plants and grasses including sedges and grains.
Date: 10th January 2019
Location: RSPB Greylake, Somerset
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Also in: Dabbling ducks
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