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Blue-winged Teal
Scientific Name - Anas discors
Identification Tips:
Length: 11 inches Wingspan: 24 inches
Small dabbling duck
Medium-sized bill without spatulate tip
Pale blue upper secondary coverts
Green speculum with white leading edge
Dark bill
Juvenile similar to adult female
Adult male alternate: (Alternate plumage
worn from fall through early summer)
Alternate plumage worn from early winter through early
summer
Blue-gray head with darker cap
White crescent on face in front of eye
Buff breast and flanks with darker spotting
White band at rear portion of flanks
Black undertail coverts
Adult male basic:
Similar to adult female, but forewing brighter
Adult female:
Pale head
Dark crown and eye line
Pale eye ring, and loral spot
Mottled gray-brown body plumage with darker back
Similar species:
Adult in alternate plumage is unmistakable. Female,
immature and eclipse male similar to Green-winged
and Cinnamon Teals. Note the small size and small
bill of the Green-winged Teals as well as the green
speculum. Cinnamon Teal is very difficult to distinguish
in some (female) plumages, but note the smaller bill
without a spatulate tip and the more distinct facial
pattern (pale loral spot and more distinct eye line)
of the Blue-winged Teal.
Diet:
Mostly: Seeds, Green Plant Matter
Lesser Quantities of: Aquatic Invertebrates
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