TheEurasian teal (Anas crecca),common teal, orEurasian green-winged teal is a common and widespreadduck that breeds intemperateEurosiberia andmigrates south in winter.[2] The Eurasian teal is often called simply theteal due to being the only one of these smalldabbling ducks in much of its range.[3] The bird gives its name to the blue-green colourteal.
It is a highly gregarious duck outside the breeding season and can form large flocks. It is commonly found in sheltered wetlands and feeds on seeds and aquatic invertebrates. TheNorth Americangreen-winged teal (A. carolinensis) was formerly (and sometimes is still) considered asubspecies ofA. crecca.
The Eurasian teal belongs to the "true" teals, a group of smallAnas dabbling ducks closely related to themallard (A. platyrhynchos) and its relatives; that latter group in fact seems to haveevolved from a true teal. It forms asuperspecies with thegreen-winged teal and thespeckled teal (A. flavirostris). A proposedsubspecies,A. c. nimia of theAleutian Islands, differs only in slightly larger size; it is probably not distinct.[3][4][5]
The Eurasian teal was first scientifically named byCarl Linnaeus in his 1758 edition ofSystema naturae. HisLatin description reads:[Anas] macula alarum viridi, linea alba supra infraque oculos – "a duck with green speculum, a white line above and below the eyes" – and his primary reference was the bird's description in his earlier workFauna Svecica.[9] In fact, the description he used inSystema Naturae was the name under which the bird went in theFauna Svecica, demonstrating the value of his newbinomial nomenclature by compressing the long-winded names formerly used inbiological classification into much simplerscientific names likeAnas crecca. Linnaeus also noted in his description that earlier authors had already written about the Eurasan teal at length:Conrad Gessner[10] had described it in theHistoriae animalium as theanas parva ("small duck") among hisquerquedulae ("teals");Ulisse Aldrovandi[11] had called itphascade orquerquedula minor ("lesser teal"), and was duly referenced byFrancis Willughby[12] who named the speciesquerquedula secunda Aldrovandi ("the second teal of Aldrovandi"[note 1]).John Ray[14] may be credited with formally introducing the name "common teal", whileEleazar Albin[15] called it simply "the teal". As regards thetype locality Linnaeus simply remarked that it inhabitsfreshwater ecosystems inEurope.[13]
The scientific name is fromLatinAnas, "duck" andkricka, the Swedish name for this species.[16] Thespecific name of Linnaeus isonomatopoetic, referring to the male's characteristic call which was already discussed by Linnaeus' sources.[citation needed] The scientific name of the Eurasian teal—unchanged since Linnaeus' time— therefore translates as "duck that makescryc"; common names like theBokmålkrikkand,Danishkrikand andGermanKrickente mean the same.
A. crecca drake in nuptial plumage, showing horizontal white stripe from shoulder
A. carolinensis (A. crecca carolinensis) drake in nuptial plumage, showing vertical white stripe from shoulder
Male (top) innuptial plumage and female. Male has the wide white wing stripe and conspicuous face markings, which gave the colourteal its name.
The Eurasian teal is one of the smallest extantdabbling ducks at 34–43 cm (13–17 in) length and with an average weight of 360 g (13 oz) in drake (males) and 340 g (12 oz) in hens (females). The wings are 17.5–20.4 cm (6.9–8.0 in) long, yielding a wingspan of 53–59 cm (21–23 in). The bill measures 3.2–4 cm (1.3–1.6 in) in length, and thetarsus 2.8–3.4 cm (1.1–1.3 in).[3][17]
From a distance, the drakes innuptial plumage appear grey, with a dark head, a yellowish behind, and a white stripe running along the flanks. Their head and upper neck ischestnut, with a wide and iridescent dark green patch of half-moon- or teardrop-shape that starts immediately before the eye and arcs to the upper hindneck. The patch is bordered with thin yellowish-white lines, and a single line of that colour extends from the patch's forward end, curving along the base of the bill. The breast isbuff with small round brown spots. The center of the belly is white, and the rest of the body plumage is mostly white with thin and dense blackishvermiculations, appearing medium grey even at a short distance. The outer scapular feathers are white, with a black border to the outer vanes, and form the white side-stripe when the bird is in resting position. The primaryremiges are dark greyish brown; thespeculum feathers are iridescent blackish-green with white tips, and form the speculum together with the yellowish-white tips of the larger upperwing coverts (which are otherwise grey). The underwing is whitish, with grey remiges, dense dark spotting on the inner coverts and a dark leading edge. The tail and tail coverts are black, with a bright yellowish-buff triangular patch in the center of the coverts at each side.[17]
In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the drake looks more like the hen; it is more uniform in colour, with a dark head and vestigial facial markings. The hen itself is yellowish-brown, somewhat darker on wings and back. It has a dark greyish-brown upper head, hindneck, eyestripe and feather pattern. The pattern is dense short streaks on the head and neck, and scaly spots on the rest of the body; overall they look much like a tinymallard (A. platyrhynchos) hen when at rest. The wings are coloured similar to the drake's, but with brown instead of grey upperwing coverts that have less wide tips, and wider tips of the speculum feathers. The hen'srectrices have yellowish-white tips; the midbelly is whitish with some dark streaking.[17]
Immatures are coloured much like hens, but have a stronger pattern. Thedowny young are coloured like in other dabbling ducks: brown above and yellow below, with a yellowsupercilium. They are recognizable by their tiny size however, weighing just 15 g (0.53 oz) at hatching.[3][17][18]
The drake's bill is dark grey, in eclipse plumage often with some light greenish or brownish hue at the base. The bill of hens and immatures is pinkish or yellowish at the base, becoming dark grey towards the tip; the grey expands basewards as the birds age. The feet are dark grey in males and greyisholive or greyish-brown in females and immatures. Theiris is always brown.[17]
Moults during summer. Male in eclipse resembles female, but with darker upperparts and grey bill. Flight feathers are moulted simultaneously and birds are flightless for up to 4 weeks.[19]
This is a noisy species. The male whistlescryc orcreelycc, not loud but very clear and far-carrying. The female has a feeblekeh orneehquack. [17]
Males in nuptial plumage are distinguished fromgreen-winged teals by the horizontal white scapular stripe, the lack of avertical white bar at the breast sides, and the quite conspicuous light outlines of the face patch, which are indistinct in the green-winged teal drake. Males in eclipse plumage, females and immatures are best recognised by their small size, calls, and the speculum; they are hard to tell apart from the green-winged teal however.[17]
The Eurasian teal breeds across thePalearctic and mostly winters well south of its breeding range. However, in the milder climate oftemperateEurope, the summer and winter ranges overlap. For example, in theUnited Kingdom andIreland a small summer population breeds, but far greater numbers ofSiberian birds arrive in winter. In theCaucasus region, westernAsia Minor, along the northern shores of theBlack Sea, and even on the south coast ofIceland and on theVestmannaeyjar, the species can be encountered all year, too.[17]
From tracking wintering teal in Italy, most individuals departed the wintering grounds between mid-February and March, using the Black-Sea-Mediterranean flyway to reach their breeding grounds, from central Europe to east of the Urals, by May. This slow migration is due to long stopovers near the start of migration, mainly in south-eastern Europe.[22]
Altogether, the Eurasian teal is much less common than its American counterpart, though still very plentiful. Its numbers are mainly assessed by counts of wintering birds; some 750,000 are recorded annually around theMediterranean andBlack Seas, 250,000 intemperate westernEurope, and more than 110,000 inJapan. In 1990 and 1991, a more detailed census was undertaken, yielding over 210,000 birds wintering inIran, some 109,000 inPakistan, about 77,000 inAzerbaijan, some 37,000 inIndia, 28,000 inIsrael, over 14,000 inTurkmenistan and almost 12,000 inTaiwan. It appears to be holding its own currently, with its slow decline of maybe 1–2% annually in the 1990s – presumably mainly due to drainage andpollution of wetlands – not warranting action other than continuing to monitor the population and possibly providing better protection forhabitat on the wintering grounds. TheIUCN andBirdLife International classify the Eurasian teal as a species ofLeast Concern, unchanged from their assessment before the split of the more numerousA. carolinensis.[1][3][17]
The Eurasian teal is one of the species to which theAgreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
Thisdabbling duck is highly gregarious outside of the breeding season and will form large flocks. In flight, the fast, twisting flocks resemblewaders; despite its short legs, it is also rather nimble on the ground by ducks' standards. In the breeding season, it is a common inhabitant of shelteredfreshwaterwetlands with some tall vegetation, such astaiga bogs or smalllakes andponds with extensivereedbeds. In winter, it is often seen inbrackish waters and even in shelteredinlets andlagoons along the seashore.[17]
It nests on the ground, near water and under cover. The pairs form in the winter quarters and arrive on the breeding grounds together, starting about March. The breeding starts some weeks thereafter, not until May in the most northernly locations. The nest is a deep hollow lined with dry leaves anddown feathers, built in dense vegetation near water. After the females have started laying, the males leave them and move away for shorter or longer distances, assembling in flocks on particular lakes where theymoult intoeclipse plumage; they will usually encounter their offspring only in winter quarters. Theclutch may consist of 5–16 eggs, but usually numbers 8–11; they are incubated for 21–23 days. The young leave the nest soon after hatching and are attended by the mother for about 25–30 days, after which theyfledge. The drakes and the hens with young generally move to the winter quarters separately. After the first winter, the young moult into adult plumage. The maximum recorded lifespan – though it is not clear whether this refers to the common or the green-winged teal—was over 27 years, which is rather high for such a small bird.[17]
^Laurie-Ahlberg, C.C.; McKinney, F. (1979). "The nod-swim display of male Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)".Animal Behaviour.27:165–172.doi:10.1016/0003-3472(79)90136-2.S2CID53155090.
^Sangster, George; Knox, Alan G.; Helbig, Andreas J.; Parkin, David T. (2002). "Taxonomic recommendations for European birds".Ibis.144:153–159.doi:10.1046/j.0019-1019.2001.00026.x.
^abcdefghijklmMadge, S.; Burn, H. (1987).Wildfowl, an Identification Guide to the Ducks, Geese and Swans of the World. London: Christopher Helm.ISBN0713636475.
^Wiles, Gary J.; Johnson, Nathan C.; de Cruz, Justine B.; Dutson, Guy; Camacho, Vicente A.; Kepler, Angela Kay; Vice, Daniel S.; Garrett, Kimball L.; Kessler, Curt C.; Pratt, H. Douglas (2004)."New and Noteworthy Bird Records for Micronesia, 1986–2003".Micronesica.37 (1):69–96.
^eBird (2023)."Green-winged Teal".eBird Status and Trends, Data Version: 2022; Released: 2023. Retrieved7 March 2024.
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