Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 14.2–16.1 in
36–41 cm - Wingspan
- 22–24.4 in
56–62 cm - Weight
- 8.1–19.2 oz
230–545 g
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.
Habitat
Lake/Pond
Blue-winged Teal nest among grasses or herbaceous vegetation and forage in summer in shallow ponds or pond-marsh mixes. They are flightless during their late summer molt, and they spend this time in prairie potholes or large marshes. Migrants use marshes, vegetated wetlands around lakes, and rice fields, and typically stop in freshwater or brackish areas rather than saltwater. On their U.S. wintering grounds they live in fresh or brackish vegetated wetlands with lots of decaying organic matter. South of the U.S., they may use different habitats including estuaries and mangroves.
Food
Seeds
Blue-winged Teal eat aquatic insects such as midge larvae, crustaceans, clams, and snails as well as vegetation and grains. Laying females eat mostly protein-rich animal matter. In winter, seeds such as rice, millet, water lilies are the predominant foods.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 6–14 eggs
- Number of Broods
- 1 broods
- Egg Length
- 1.5–2 in
3.8–5.2 cm - Egg Width
- 1.1–1.5 in
2.9–3.7 cm - Incubation Period
- 19–29 days
- Nestling Period
- 40 days
- Egg Description
- Creamy white.
- Condition at Hatching
- Covered in yellow down with a gray-brown eye stripe. Able to leave nest soon after hatching.
Nest Description
The female builds the nest by scraping with her feet to make a circular depression. She then lines it with dried grasses picked from around the nest, adding down and breast feathers. Vegetation conceals most nests on all sides and from above. The finished nest is about 8 inches across, with an inside diameter of about 6 inches and 2 inches deep.
Nest Placement
Ground
Females decide where to nest by flying over possible areas, landing in an opening, and then walking into grassy cover. She may take several days to decide on the site. Males wait nearby. Nests are typically at least a foot above the nearest water and covered by vegetation.
Behavior
Dabbler
Blue-winged Teal feed by dabbling—dipping their bill into the water, submerging their entire head, or tipping up to reach for prey or vegetation deeper underwater. They dive rarely. Like many ducks, Blue-winged Teal have a range of exaggerated motions that they use as displays. Often male will make these displays while oriented to the side of the female he is courting. They include pumping the head up and down, dipping the head under water rapidly, and tipping up or dabbling in the water with body feathers raised. Females may respond by "inciting": lowering her head, pointing her bill at the male, and then raising her head. Pair bonds typically dissolve during incubation, and adults form new pair bonds with different mates in the winter or spring. Many males court the same female at once until she chooses a mate. Forced copulations by males with females other than their mate—a common occurrence in many duck species—is comparatively rare in Blue-winged Teal.
Conservation
Least Concern
Blue-winged Teal are the second most abundant duck in North America, behind the Mallard. Their numbers fluctuate between about 2.8 million and 7.4 million birds, mainly as a response to water conditions, with drought causing populations to fall. By funding farmers to leave some of their fields fallow, the USDA Conservation Reserve Program has helped increase grassland nesting habitat by about 1.8 million acres in this species' prairie pothole breeding range. Blue-winged Teal are early migrants, so they're gone from much of the U.S. before duck-hunting season begins in many states. Still, hunters shoot 200,000 to upwards of 500,000 Blue-winged Teal per year (this hunting pressure is carefully managed to maintain population goals). Blue-winged Teal, like other ducks, are vulnerable to wetland loss or degradation, pesticide contamination (particularly on their wintering grounds, in countries where DDT is still legal), and consumption of lead shot where it is still used.
Credits
- Bellrose, F. C. 1976. Ducks, Geese, and Swans of North America. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA.
- 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