Blue-winged Teal

Anas discors

The Blue-winged teal is a long distance migrant wintering in South America.

Appearance

Male has blue grey head with white crescent behind bill; brown breast, sides and underparts speckled with black; black and white patches at the base of tail; blue forewing patch bordered by white with a green bar at the trailing edge of wing
Female is mottled brown overall with dull blue forewing patch bordered by faint white stripe and a green bar at the back edge of wing that is duller and darker than the male’s

Breeding

Form breeding pairs before returning to the breeding grounds in the spring
Mid season nester – (eg. nests later than mallard and pintail but earlier than gadwall and American wigeon)
Female selects nest site and constructs nest using material available at site, down and breast feathers
Females lays an average clutch of 10 eggs at a rate of 1 egg/day
Female incubates eggs for days 19-29 days once last egg is laid
Males typically stay with female until late in incubation and then leaves the female to undergo a feather moult
Female typically stays with young until they are able to fly and then also leaves to undergo a feather moult

Habitat: Grasslands bordering small potholes and other freshwater wetlands.

Range: Breeds throughout much of Canada, Alaska, and northern United States south through Great Plains to gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana.

Winters in extreme southern U.S., Mexico, central America, Caribbean and the majority winter in northern parts of South America.

Diet: Diet varies with location and season. Feeds on aquatic invertebrates, seeds, aquatic vegetation and occasionally agricultural grains. Egg-laying female feeds heavily on animal matter

Status and Conservation Issues

Second most abundant duck in North America after the mallard
Numbers closely linked to number of wetlands present in spring—susceptible to declines in numbers after drought on prairies
Population dropped to a 40-year low in the 1990s following several years of drought

Interesting Facts

One of the first ducks to migrate south in the fall and one of the last to migrate north in the spring
Long distance migrant—majority winter in northern parts of South America