Cinnamon teal

Did you know

The cinnamon teal is a small dabbling duck. The male has a cinnamon-red head and body with a brown back, a red eye, and a dark bill. The female has a mottled brown body, a pale brown head, brown eyes, and a grey bill. The female is very similar in appearance to a female blue-winged teal, however its overall colour is richer and its bill is longer. Young males resemble a female or a blue-winged teal, but the eyes are red.

Common name: Cinnamon teal
Scientific name: Anas cyanoptera
Diet: Omnivorous; mainly aquatic plants
Average life span: 10 years
Length: 38-43 cm
Weight: 335-401 g

Food & Habitat

They prefer small, shallow alkaline wetlands surrounded by low herbaceous cover. Cinnamon teals prefer marshes and ponds for breeding.

They mainly eat plants, their diet also includes mollusks, and aquatic insects.

Breeding & Population

Cinnamon teals generally select new mates each year. Nests are often located in grassy areas and island nesting is common. Female cinnamon teal lay an average of eight to 10 eggs.

They breed in the western United States and southwestern Canada.

Migration

Most winter in northern South America and the Caribbean, generally not migrating as far as the blue-winged teal. Some winter in California and southwestern Arizona.

Interesting facts

• They are known to interbreed with blue-winged teals.