Basic Information
Scientific classification
- Chinese name: Blue-winged Duck
- Scientific name: Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)
- Classification: Waterfowl
- Family: Anseriformes, Anatidae, Anatidae
Vital signs data
- Body length: 37-41 cm
- Weight: 266-410g
- Lifespan: No verification data available.
Significant features
Distribution and Habitat
Distributed in North America, including the United States, Canada, Greenland, Bermuda, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and the transitional zone between North and Central America within Mexico. Central America, located between North and South America, includes Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago. South America includes Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and the Falkland Islands (also known as the Malvinas Islands).
These ducks typically inhabit freshwater lakeshores, and some also overwinter in coastal salt flats, reservoirs, lakes, rivers, streams, marshes, wetlands, rice paddies, and even farmland.
Appearance
The Blue-winged Teal measures 37-41 cm in length and has a wingspan of 60-64 cm. Males weigh 273-410 g, and females weigh 266-375 g. It is a small, long-billed wading bird. The head is grey with a white eye-ring, white eye stripe, and white lores. The plumage is reddish-brown with white edges. The tail coverts are a mixture of black and white, and the flanks have a dark blue speculum. Females and juveniles have mottled brown plumage, yellow legs, and a black bill. During the breeding season, males have small dark spots on their plumage.
Detailed introduction
The Blue-winged Teal (scientific name: *Anas discors*) is a gregarious animal that prefers to live in flocks during the winter. It is most active in the grassy areas of marshy regions near water. They often travel in groups in rivers, lakes, bays, and coastal areas, feeding on grass seeds, rice, snails, and mollusks.
Blue-winged teals are highly migratory birds that migrate to South America in the winter, typically starting their southward migration in late August and continuing until mid-October. Seeds constitute their main food source during this migration.
Blue-winged teals build their nests in grasslands, along coastlines, and other open salt marshes. The nests are close to water sources but can also be far away. It is a shallow, basin-shaped nest on the ground, hidden in vegetation and lined with grass and reeds. The female lays 9 to 13 eggs at a time and incubates them alone for 23 to 24 days. After hatching, the chicks can leave the nest to swim and immediately follow the mother in search of food. The mother continues to protect and care for them for several weeks before leaving. Generally, the ducklings can fly after 38 to 49 days of incubation.
Listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020 ver 3.1.
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