Blue-winged teal (Spatula discors) are small members of the dabbling duck group found in North America. They are often the first ducks to migrate south in the fall and the last ones to return in the spring. During migration, some Blue-winged teal may fly very long distances and cross the open ocean.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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OmnivoreAn omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and ani...
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NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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WaterfowlWaterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans. They ...
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SemiaquaticSemiaquatic animals are those that are primarily or partly terrestrial but that spend a large amount of time swimming or otherwise occupied in wate...
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Serial monogamySerial monogamy is a mating system in which a pair bonds only for one breeding season.
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FlockingFlocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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starts withThe adult male of this species has a greyish-blue head with a white facial crescent, a light brown body with a white patch near the rear, and a black tail. The adult female is mottled brown and has a whitish area at the base of the bill. Both sexes have sky-blue wing coverts, a green speculum, and yellow legs. They have two molts per year and a third molt in their first year.
Blue-winged teal are found throughout North America except in western and northern Alaska, northern Yukon Territory, northern Northwest Territories, and the northeastern area of Canada. They breed from east-central Alaska and southern Mackenzie District east to southern Quebec and southwestern Newfoundland. In the contiguous United States, they breed from northeast California east to central Louisiana, central Tennessee, and the Atlantic Coast. Some populations nest along the Atlantic Coast from New Brunswick to Pea Island, North Carolina. Blue-winged teal winter from southern California to western and southern Texas, the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast, the Caribbean, and south to Central and South America. They also often winter as far south as Brazil and central Chile. Blue-winged teal prefer to live on shorelines more often than open water and prefer calm water or sluggish currents to fast water. They inhabit inland marshes, lakes, ponds, pools, and shallow streams with dense emergent vegetation. In coastal areas, they breed in salt marsh meadows with adjoining ponds or creeks. Blue-winged teal can also be found in the northern prairies and parklands.
Blue-winged teal are very social birds. They feed, rest and migrate in flocks. They are diurnal but always migrate at night. These ducks feed by dabbling in shallow water at the edge of marshes or open water. Blue-winged teal are generally the first ducks south in the fall and the last ones north in the spring. Adult males depart the breeding grounds well before adult hens and immatures. Most Blue-winged teal flocks seen after mid-September are composed largely of adult hens and immatures. In central migration areas, they tend to remain through September, then diminish rapidly during October, with small numbers remaining until December. Large numbers of Blue-winged teal appear on wintering grounds in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas in September. During migration, some birds may fly long distances over the open ocean. Blue-winged teal communicate with each other vocally; the call of the male is a short whistle, while the female's call is a soft quack.
Blue-winged teal are omnivores. Although they mainly eat plants and grains, their diet also includes mollusks and aquatic insects.
Blue-winged teal are serially monogamous and form pairs only for one breeding season. The courtship usually starts in late January or early February but in southern areas courtship may start during the spring migration. Blue-winged teal usually nest between mid-April and mid-May. They build their nests on dry ground in grassy sites such as bluegrass meadows, hayfields, and sedge meadows. They will also nest in areas with very short, sparse vegetation. Nests are usually located within several hundred yards of open water. Where the habitat is good, they nest communally. Females lay 10 to 12 eggs and incubation takes 21 to 27 days. During incubation, the males leave their mates and move to suitable molting cover where they become flightless for a period of 3 to 4 weeks. Blue-winged teal ducklings can walk to water within 12 hours after hatching but do not fledge until 6 to 7 weeks. They become reproductively mature after their first winter.
Blue-winged teal are not threatened at present but they suffer from the loss of their wetland habitat, the use of pesticides and consumption of lead shot.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Blue-winged teal is around 7,800,000 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today are increasing.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...