Page 108 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

WILDFOWL
Order Anseriformes Family Anatidae Species Anas crecca
Teal greyish head, sometimes
with dark-capped effect
grey
bill
white central
bar
pale streak
beside tail
FEMALE streaked
pale streak JUVENILE green band on brown body
MALE beside tail brown head with grey legs
(WINTER)
thin horizontal white
thick midwing line along side
bar
pale leading
edge
bright green
patch on
hindwings grey body
(plumage
similar to
FEMALE female’s in
green summer)
patch IN FLIGHT
black-edged
yellow triangle
under tail
he smallest common
Tsurface-feeding duck, MALE
the Teal is agile and quick in (WINTER)
flight, its movements recalling
those of a wader. Nervous groups may
often swoop down to a sheltered bay, only to dart over the water FLIGHT: quick, active, twisting; swooping in to
surface and wheel up and away once more; sometimes several such settle like waders.
approaches precede their eventual DRAB DUCK
settling. In places,Teal occur in hundreds An absence of bright colours on
but 20–40 are more typical, scattered the bill and legs helps to identify
along well-vegetated or muddy shores, the female Teal.
or in wet marshes.
VOICE Male has loud, ringing, high-
pitched crik crik that can be easily heard
at long range across marshes or estuaries;
female has high quack.
NESTING Down-lined hollow near
water;8–11 eggs;1 brood;April–June.
FEEDING Mostly in water or on muddy
shores, taking plants and seeds.
SIMILAR SPECIES SUBSPECIES OCCURRENCE
Breeds in N and E Europe on
WIGEON 3winter, similar GARGANEY 32 stripe over vertical freshwater marshes and wet
to 3winter; see p.105 autumn, similar to eye white line
2; see p.107 near chest moors and heaths, including high
moorland pools. Winters more
widely in S and W Europe, mostly
on fresh waters with muddy edges
bigger,
paler, and and around estuaries.
white bluer body
forewing A. c. carolinensis 3 Seen in the UK
patch (North America) J F M A M JJ A S O N D
Length 34–38cm (13 1 ⁄2 –15in) Wingspan 58–64cm (23–25in) Weight 250–400g (9–14oz)
Social Small flocks Lifespan 10–15 years Status Secure
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