Spatula discors
The Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) is a small, agile dabbling duck instantly recognizable in breeding plumage by the male's striking slate-blue head, adorned with a crisp white crescent in front of the eye. Measuring 35-46 cm (14-18 in) in length with a wingspan of 58-64 cm (23-25 in) and weighing 280-500 g, both sexes display a distinctive iridescent blue patch on the forewing (speculum) visible in flight. Females and eclipse males are mottled brown with a dark eye stripe and a small pal...
Found in shallow freshwater wetlands, marshes, prairie potholes, and flooded fields, often with emergent vegetation; primarily at low elevations.
Feeds primarily on seeds of aquatic plants, small aquatic invertebrates (insects, crustaceans, mollusks), and some green vegetation, dabbling at the surface or tipping in shallow water.
Blue-winged Teals are primarily diurnal, spending their days dabbling for food in shallow water, often tipping forward to reach submerged vegetation and invertebrates. They are highly gregarious outside the breeding season, forming large flocks that roost communally on open water or shorelines. D...
The Blue-winged Teal breeds across a broad expanse of central and northern North America, primarily from Alaska and central Canada south through the Great Plains states, the Great Lakes region, and extending eastward into the northeastern United States. Their highest breeding densities occur in t...
Least Concern
- Blue-winged Teals undertake some of the longest migrations of any North American duck, with some individuals traveling from the Canadian Prairies to northern South America. - They are among the earliest ducks to migrate south in the fall, often departing breeding grounds in late August. - The m...