Blue-winged Teal

Blue-winged Teal, male, breeding plumage

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Blue-winged Teal, females

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A small duck of shallow ponds, the Blue-winged Teal breeds across much of the central and northern United States and Canada. Rather dull in plumage overall, it reveals its powder-blue wing patch in flight.

Description

• Small duck.
• Brown or gray overall.
• Large light blue patches on front of wing, visible in flight.
• Male with white crescent on face.

• Size: 36-41 cm (14-16 in)
• Wingspan: 56-62 cm (22-24 in)
• Weight: 230-545 g (8.12-19.24 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male with large white crescent on front of face and white patch on rear flank; female dull gray-brown.

Sound

Male's call is a loud, high whistle or a nasal bleat. Female gives loud, evenly spaced quacks.

Conservation Status

After the Mallard, the Blue-winged Teal is the second-most abundant duck in North America. Populations subject to decline in years of drought on prairies.

Other Names

Sarcelle à ailes bleues (French)
Cerceta ala azul (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Blue-winged Teal is among the latest ducks to migrate northward in spring, and one of the first to migrate southward in fall.

• The Blue-winged Teal migrates over long distances. One individual banded in Alberta was shot in Venezuela a month later.

Sources used to construct this page:

1. Bellrose, F. C. 1976. Ducks, Geese, and Swans of North America. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA.
2. Rohwer, F. C., W. P. Johnson, and E. R. Loos. 2002. Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors). In The Birds of North America, No. 625 (A. Poole