The smallest river duck, the teal, is three times smaller than the mallard and does not exceed 38 centimeters. The bird is popularly nicknamed the “whistle” because of its ability to produce loud and ringing whistles. Such expressive singing is characteristic only of drakes. Ducks have only a muffled, nasal quack. From the article you will learn about what kind of life the teal leads, where it lives and how it behaves in its natural environment.
Varieties of teal
Anatomically, the teal bird is similar to the mallard. The difference between them is the size of the body. Ornithologists do not classify this bird as a separate genus. Therefore, teal officially belongs to the river ducks.
Science knows about 20 species of teal. They differ from each other in feather color, behavior, voice and habitat.
The most common varieties:
- chestnut;
- Madagascar;
- brown;
- blue;
- blue-winged;
- gray;
- brown;
- Auckland;
- kloktun;
- marble and others.
On the territory of our country there are several species of these birds that are of interest to gourmets and hunters collecting trophies. For this reason, marbled teal is listed in the Red Book, and kloktun is considered a vulnerable species. Hunting in Russia is allowed only for whistlers, the population of which is not in danger of extinction.
General description of the species
The weight of an adult duck is 400 grams. Drakes weigh 100 grams more. Almost the entire body of ducks is covered with feathers of brown, gray and beige. By gender, representatives of the stronger sex are distinguished by a brighter color and the presence of feathers of a contrasting color on the head. During the molting period, drakes look the same as ducks.
The teal is distinguished by a bright green stripe located in the eye area.
In the teal, this stripe is colored white.
The plumage of the marbled teal ranges from white to dark gray. They alternate according to the principle of scales. This “camouflage” allows the bird to remain invisible in dense thickets of water bodies.
A distinctive feature of the bird: it does not require a run to fly. This is facilitated by the narrow and sharp shape of the wings. So, when taking off, the duck does not create noise and does so along a vertical trajectory.
The teal duck is a dexterous, maneuverable bird. Although its size is modest, it is not the easiest target for birds of prey. It is difficult to catch up with her in flight and hear her land on the water.
Habitats
Teal-whistle and teal-gadder are found everywhere in our country. Birds lead a migratory lifestyle. For wintering in early autumn, flocks migrate to Mediterranean countries, Asia, and Western Europe.
Some species of ducks prefer to migrate within the country. During the cold season, they move to the southern regions, where they settle in meadows and coastal areas. Birds return to their homes between March and May.
Favorite nesting places for teals are reservoirs, lakes, river deltas, coastal thickets near the seas, forest-steppe, and tundra. A favorable environment for these ducks is a marshy area where duckweed and reeds grow in abundance.
Teal build their nests in thickets near a water source. In this way, a small duck protects itself and its offspring from the invasion of predators.
Duck feeding
The method of obtaining food for teals is no different from other ducks. The bird dives head down, looking for food under water. By clicking its beak, the teal leaves food and gets rid of liquid.
Ducks get food not only in water, but also on land. Their diet includes everything that comes their way:
- duckweed;
- plants' seeds;
- grass;
- insect larvae;
- terrestrial and aquatic insects;
- worms;
- small crustaceans and crustaceans;
- cereals.
With the onset of cold weather, when food sources become scarcer, birds move to warm countries.
Mating season for teals
By the end of the first year of life, the teal reaches sexual maturity. The drake's rituals to attract a mate are complex and last longer than those of other wild ducks. It is noteworthy that during the courtship period, the male teal pursues not only representatives of his own species, but also other duck species.
Having surrounded the duck, he cuts several circles around it, showing off his mirror plumage on his wings. At the same time, the male loudly cracks, whistles and flaps his wings. The dance is repeated over and over again. If the duck shows favor, it responds with a quack and, together with the drake, rises into the air. While the couple circles in a mating dance, both ducks remain easy prey for birds of prey and hunters.
Teal, like most ducks, are monogamous. They mate for life.
The appearance of offspring
The teal duck nest is built at a distance of about 100-150 meters from the nearest water source. Dense thickets of grass and coastal shrubs are suitable for this. Birds use dry leaves, grass, and twigs as materials for construction. The bottom is lined with your own feathers and animal hair.
One clutch contains from five to sixteen eggs. This scatter is due to the prevalence of population and size in the region. While the mother is hatching her offspring, the drake begins to molt and during this period it is removed.
Chicks are born from the 22nd to the 30th day. This time falls in May-July. The hotter the country of residence, the shorter the incubation time. The chicks are fully formed, active and physically ready for independent life from the first days. The mother teaches the children the skills of obtaining food and swimming.
If the duckling has not fallen into the clutches of predators and has not suffered from disease, it will live up to 20 years in the wild. When a bird is kept at home, it has every chance to “celebrate” its 30th anniversary.
Teal ducks have a strong maternal instinct and care for their offspring. If a duck leaves the nest with babies, she camouflages it by covering the area with leaves and branches.
Migrating teals, feeding on the rice crop in the fields along the way, are subject to mass destruction. Birds get caught in nets set by farmers. This is the main reason for the decline in the population of kloktuns in our country.
A similar situation is developing in Great Britain and the Scandinavian Peninsula. In these countries, the meat of teal ducks is considered a delicacy. Therefore, during the migration period they are caught for the purpose of selling them to restaurants and shops.
Despite the modest size of the bird, the percentage of meat in the total weight of the carcass is 70%. In the culinary community, teal is classified as “noble game”.
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The teal duck or whistler is the smallest waterfowl duck that is widely known in our country. You can meet her almost anywhere in Russia. What are its features and what are its distinctive features, let's find out together.
The teal duck weighs no more than 500 grams, but this is not the only difference from other wild waterfowl. Unlike all those known in our country, it has narrow wings with pointed ends, thanks to which it can take off almost vertically. This ability also allows the bird to land even on the most inaccessible ponds densely overgrown with grass. The teal is unpretentious to living conditions, so it settles almost throughout the entire country, except for the extreme cold zones of the North. However, as practice shows, it loves most small forest lakes or swamps with quiet, standing water. In such waters there is always a lot of food for a small bird.
External characteristics
Teal is a small river duck that has narrow wings, a small body and a short neck.. Thanks to them, the bird not only lands well in overgrown reservoirs, but also flies almost silently. True, the plumage of birds is not very bright. Males during the mating season in spring are gray in color with a dark chestnut-colored head and a green stripe, a yellow back and a gray stripe along the wing. The chest of males is pinkish with small dark spots. The bird's belly is white, its sides and shoulder blades are ashen. Very beautiful coloring of the wings, as seen in the photo.
In summer and during the molting period, males acquire a grayer body color without obvious variegated patches. This makes him look like a female. The only distinguishing feature is the bright, still variegated mirror on the wings and the black beak. The female has the same plumage color throughout the year. The predominant color is dark brown with light edges. By the way, the female teal is very similar to the female mallard, only smaller in size, which is clearly visible in the photo.
Reproduction
Teal, unlike most waterfowl wild ducks, reaches sexual maturity already in the first year of life, although they do not always begin breeding immediately. They enter the period of courtship and mating early, usually with the first freeze-up: in May in the north, in early March in the south of the country. Some birds form pairs at wintering sites or in flight, while others form pairs after arriving at nesting sites. Teal ducks also have another feature - females often winter separately from males. Most ducks go to winter in southern latitudes, while drakes often remain in northern latitudes.
The mating displays of teals are very similar to mallards. Even in the fall, after molting, males begin to display near females and choose a mate. During the dances, the drakes lower their heads into the water and then raise them sharply, emitting a loud, characteristic whistle. It is because of this that the birds were nicknamed whistlers - teal-whistle. Having chosen a mate, the birds remain faithful until the female begins the period of incubation of eggs.
Teal usually live in small groups, making nests on the ground near or near water. For the nest, the female digs a hole and lines its bottom with dry grass, leaves or branches of coniferous trees. The duck also covers the nest with its feathers along the entire perimeter.
The female teal lays an average of 8-10 eggs and incubates them for approximately 23 days. From the first days of life, ducklings are perfectly adapted to life; they can run fast, even jump, dive and get food on their own. By the 30th day of life they are already on their wings.
Distribution and habitat
The teal duck settles throughout Russia, in the northern part of Eurasia, while in the far north it reaches the Arctic coastline. Western populations are found in Iceland, and southern populations are found in the Aleutian Islands, Commander Islands, Sakhalin and Hokkaido. Also widespread in northern Mongolia and Primorye. Ducks winter in the southern and western zones of Europe, in the western part of Asia Minor and in the Mediterranean.
Most often, the teal chooses forest-tundra and forest-steppe for its habitat, but you can hardly find it in the continuous steppe. During the breeding season, it settles near bodies of water with standing water. It is here in shallow water that they find food. In winter and autumn, birds, as a rule, feed on plant foods, but in spring and summer – on animal feed. The latter are chosen from mollusks, insects and worms. Today this bird is hunted commercially.
Video “Birds of the continents - teal-whistle”
In this video presentation, you can see in detail what birds of this species look like.
Teal are ducks that belong to the river group. They prefer bodies of fresh water. Their habitat is represented by regions with a temperate climate. Individuals living in Africa and North and South America are sedentary. Birds from Southeast Asia and India do not fly away from their nests. Teal are migratory and live in European countries and in Central and East Asia. What is a duck? What does it eat? How does it reproduce?
The duck differs from other representatives of waterfowl in its small size. The teal is smaller than the pigeon. Its body length is up to 30 cm, weight 350 g. Females are smaller than males. The bird is commercial. Hunters note the good taste of teal meat. There are few feathers obtained from small ducks, but they are valued for their excellent thermal insulation properties:
- The main color of teals is brown or gray, but nature has painted the drakes in bright shades. Males are visible from afar. The feathers on their heads are bright red. The eyes are framed in emerald circles, which are delimited by a narrow white stripe. On the chest, among the gray or brown plumage, pinkish shades stand out. The plumage on the tail is black, at the base of the tail the feathers are bright yellow. The mirror is formed by dark green flight feathers;
- After the end of the mating season, the drakes molt. Until autumn they remain gray-speckled or brown. In the fall they undergo a second moult. The plumage begins to play with its original colors again;
- individuals always keep in pairs, but before migrating to another body of water or fields, before migration they gather in flocks;
- The bird is nocturnal. A small duck is defenseless against birds of prey, animals and humans. In search of food, flocks can fly from their native reservoir to meadows with lush vegetation or to fields with cereal crops. They fly late in the evening or at night. Before dawn they return to their native creek;
- The teal duck feeds on algae, small fish, and insect larvae. Birds dive for prey, submerging half in the water;
- flocks often go ashore and graze in the meadows. They prefer dense vegetation. In tall grass, a small duck becomes invisible.
Birds have many enemies on the pond. They are attacked by nutria, large fish. Teal tries to escape from them. Nature has endowed birds with a special wing structure. Ducks take off from a place, without running through the water, without additional flapping of their wings. The takeoff is sharp and rapid.
Ornithologists count 20 species of teal. They differ in plumage and habitat. On the territory of Russia there are only 2 species of ducks: teal and gadder:
- The whistler is distinguished by its bright breeding plumage. It is especially noticeable on the head. The drake's voice is characterized by high notes, similar to a thin whistle. The male whistles to call the female and warns other individuals of danger. Females do not whistle. They make nasal sounds;
- The rattlefish produces a loud, rolling crack. The plumage of the drake is more modest than that of the whistler. The cover is uniformly brown. The mirror is formed by white feathers. During the mating season, the plumage hardly changes, only a wide, white stripe runs across the eye;
- The green-winged teal is native to North America. Its main plumage is gray. But on the back and wings there are green shades. The color of the head is bright. Red and green colors predominate;
- yellow-billed - found in South America. Individuals have a bright yellow beak. The plumage is brown. Drakes are not much different from females;
- blue-winged - lives in the northern regions of Canada, found in Alaska. Males are distinguished by dark blue plumage on the head, back and wings. The beak and metatarsals are dark. Females have gray plumage. Individuals are considered the largest among teals. Their body length is 40 cm, weight 450 g;
- The Auckland teal duck is common in the Auckland archipelago. It is located in the Pacific Ocean, south of New Zealand. Externally, the bird looks like a small mallard duck. The drake has the same breeding plumage: a brown outline, a dark green tint on the head, blue or green flight feathers.
The Sunda teal lives in Indonesia, and the Madagascar teal lives on the island of Madagascar. In Africa, the main population of ducks in this group is the Cape variety: large individuals, body length up to 50 cm, weight more than 700 g. The Campbell teal is unique. He cannot fly and lives on land. It hides in the dense vegetation of the steppes, in tree hollows, and in burrows. He lives in New Zealand.
Teal arrive in Europe at the end of February. Birds return to Central Asia at the beginning of April. The birds begin their mating season. Young individuals are looking for mates. Males swim in circles around females, showing them their plumage. Drakes compete in the ability to fly. They quickly rise from the surface of the water and fall like a stone near the female they like.
The female watches the males and chooses a life partner among them. She swims up to the drake, raises her voice, and stretches her neck towards him. After mating, the ducks begin to build nests together. They choose a secluded place on the shore for their nest. It could be a dense bush or reed thicket. Individuals dig a small hole in the ground, place soft grass and feathers in it, which they pluck from their chests.
Teal whistler nest
The female lays 9-12 eggs. She also does the hatching. The incubation period lasts 24-26 days. A small duck tries to be invisible among dense vegetation. She rarely leaves the nest. Before leaving him for a while, she covers the nest with grass and feathers. Ducks do not fly away during the hatching period. They are molting. They use fallen feathers to insulate the nest.
While the hen is busy, the drakes gather in flocks. They also molt and acquire everyday, modest plumage. Males stay away from nests, in coastal vegetation. At night they come out of their shelters into deep water to find food.
Hatching of the chicks begins on the 22nd day. On day 26, all ducklings shed their shells. The female immediately removes it from the nest, clears her home of wet, dirty grass. The plumage of the chicks is olive in color, with dark streaks on the back. Ducklings immediately know how to swim. The teal duck teaches them to dive and get food for themselves.
The miniature teal duck is another interesting member of the duck family. Next, we will learn about its features, appearance and lifestyle.
Let’s make a reservation right away: the codfish should not be confused with the whistler. These are two different ducks with significant external differences. Only their name may seem consonant to some.
What does a drake look like?
Unlike the teal, the teal duck is a larger bird. However, this is in comparison, because this duck is also not large in size. The male barely reaches a weight of 600 g, while the female weighs up to 400 g.
But this is not the whole difference between them. The primary flight feathers of the codling are distinguished by white rods. The plumage as a whole is not particularly bright. The drake's wings are light gray in color, somewhat elongated and hang to the side. The beak is black, 38-42 mm long, the eyes are brown, and the legs are gray.
During the mating period, males develop a white stripe that runs through the eye and to the back of the head. The mirrors on the wings are green, with a metallic sheen, and white feathers grow around the wing. The head becomes brown with sparse white streaks. The cheeks acquire a chocolate color with a wine tint, the part under the beak is completely black. The rest of the plumage is gray-brown, only the neck and chest are yellow and the chest and sides are whitish-blue.
What does the female look like?
Females also have brown feathers, but darker. Her feathers turn pale at the bottom. The sides of her head are slightly lighter, and a darker stripe is visible through her eyes. The sides of the body are reddish, and the wings are brown. The mirror on them is pale, sometimes it is not even visible. The front of her neck is white, and on her chest the white color is diluted with small spots. Along the rump there are feathers, darkened in the center.
In summer, grown chicks and adults of both sexes are similar in appearance. The male is distinguished only by the feathers on his wings; they are blue and gray.
Nutrition
Teal prefer to eat:
- food of plant origin;
- invertebrate worms;
- insects;
- shellfish
They find them on land or in shallow water and along the coast. In order to catch food from the water, the codfish lowers its head down and filters out all vegetation and living creatures through its beak. A duck does not dive under water.
Birds do not hunt near large lakes and seashores, but they can fly in to rest.
Where does the teal live?
The bird is found throughout almost all of Eurasia, in the eastern and even northern territories of Russia. It is found in Kamchatka, on the Commander Islands, in the Primorsky Territory, in Transbaikalia, it was captured in photographs even in Yakutsk. These birds can also be found in western Europe and all the way to Iceland.
But it was not always so. Just a couple of hundred years ago, these ducks preferred only the temperate zone of Eurasia.
Open areas near the banks of lakes, ponds, rivers and swamps covered with tall grass serve as a haven for codfish. Where they are found less often is near the seas.
Wintering
Compared to other migratory ducks, the teal makes much longer flights. For the winter, teal cod migrate to Africa, southeast Asia or fly to sub-Saharan Africa. Less often they fly to the Mediterranean Sea in Italy or France. Some individuals remain near the Caspian Sea (southern coast) and on Sivash, as well as in Greece and Turkey.
Reproduction of teal
Mating season
Flirting and pairing in gars, like most ducks, occurs during the winter, so they no longer return to their nesting sites alone. To attract a duck, the male throws his head back or stretches his neck and moves it up and down.
Nesting
Birds place their nests on the ground near water, in a meadow, or occupy abandoned nests in trees (this happens less frequently). Arranging a perch for teal is an important matter. Usually this is a deep hole, the bottom of which is lined with dry plants and fluff, and the edges are additionally protected by a cushion of plants.
Hatching chicks
By the end of May or the beginning of June (depending on the climate of the area of residence), 8-9 eggs have already been laid in the clutch. They have an olive color with a hint of brown or fawn. In total, birds hatch eggs for up to 24 days.
Little ducklings quickly leave the nest, although they begin to fly only on the 40th day of life.
Facts about teal
Behavior
Among all the ducks, the teal is one of the most carefree. They are dexterous and nimble on the surface of the water, but not at all careful in life. Even if there is a real danger (chase) or if they are injured, these ducks are not entirely successful in demonstrating the art of camouflage.
The flight of the codfish is very fast and quiet. At the start, it easily rises vertically upward.
These ducks fly in large flocks, in which about 100 individuals can be counted. In this composition they survive the winter, separating themselves from birds of other species, although after the summer molt they can often be found walking alone.
Drakes do not fly far from the nests where the duck hatches their common offspring, despite the fact that the female is capable of standing up for herself and for her future brood.
They fly away early for the winter; from about mid-August the first migrations are already noticeable.
Security
Due to deteriorating conditions in some teal wintering areas, as well as various changes in the environment, their numbers are significantly decreasing. In addition, their nests are often destroyed by accident during work in the fields, so it is no longer possible to take a photo of the cod in some areas of Europe.
In order to protect the species, these ducks are bred in zoological gardens. This measure can be successful, since codfish reproduce well outside their usual habitat.
Mini duck identification in spring
Photo by Sergei Eliseev
A hut on a small dry island in the floodplain of a river during a flood... A hunter took refuge in it, and a decoy was working nearby. Stuffed animals are placed at a distance. The decoy Zarko screams in annoyance at all the flying ducks. Not only mallard drakes, but also other species of ducks can attach themselves to it. Some come in flocks. Among all types of spring hunting, this hunt is the richest in the variety of trophies. And the hunter is obliged not only to distinguish a drake from a duck, but also to know all the species that he can encounter in a given area. Our review will help novice decoy hunters with this. Let’s say right away that now, in the spring, drakes are very clearly distinguished from ducks by their bright plumage and voice. We will not give a detailed description of the species, but we will touch on the main, most characteristic differences by which the hunter can recognize the species of ducks. We will pay special attention to how to distinguish a drake from a duck in the unclear pre-dawn and sunset twilight.
The fauna of Russia includes 14 species of river ducks and 27 species of diving ducks (including sea ducks). We will only talk about those that are regularly found in the spring in the central regions of Russia. More detailed information is presented in the “Field Guide to Anseriformes of Russia” (M., 2011).
RIVER OR NOBLE DUCKS
Dabbling ducks differ from diving ducks in that they sit high on the water; their tail is held raised above the water; when feeding, they do not dive, and sometimes only turn over, plunging the front part of the body into the water, leaving the tail above the water. They take off without a run, almost vertically. In flight, unlike diving, a longer neck, wings and tail are visible. Usually they do not form formations in packs.
Shoveler
It differs from other ducks in having a spatulate, widened beak. It flies slowly and seems clumsy. In flight, a wide beak is noticeable, the head is slightly tilted down. The drake is perhaps the most beautiful of all ducks: its dark green head and top of the neck contrast with the white chest, red sides of the body and belly. The wings in front are blue, the “mirror” is bright green. The female is brownish-red. The male's eyes are bright yellow, the female's are brown. The paws are bright orange. The drake’s voice is a dull, quiet nasal “sok-sun, sok-sun” (where the Siberian name “soksun” comes from). The female makes rhythmic “pi-itt, pi-itt” sounds. One of the least cautious river ducks.
Mallard
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Photo by Sergei Fokin |
The largest river duck is well known to all hunters. In spring, the drake has a shimmering emerald green head, separated by a white collar from a brown chest. The belly, back, sides and belly are ash-gray. The beak is yellow, the legs are orange. If at dusk several mallards approach the hut, the drake can be distinguished from the female by its longer neck and high-raised head. He is always lighter than the female and usually swims second, after the duck. The voice is a metallic “chewing”. The female looks like a decoy duck and only quacks.
Pintail
The smallest duck. The male has a reddish-brown head with a wide green stripe from the back of the head to the eye. At dusk, both sexes appear darker than teal. The female is gray. In the uncertain twilight light, the male is distinguished from the female by a wide whitish-yellow section of the tail between the abdomen and the end of the tail and a white stripe on the shoulder; the female has dark shoulders; Through binoculars a white spot on the throat is noticeable. The male's voice - a melodic "trink-trink" - can be heard very far away. The female makes a short quack, higher pitched than that of a mallard, but rougher than that of female teal.
The flight is fast and maneuverable, so that the flock is able to quickly make synchronized turns, unlike the cracklings.
Gray duck
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Photo by Andrew Dunn |
Smaller than a mallard. In flight, it is distinguished by a sharp whistling of its wings and a bright white “mirror”, tricolor in males (chestnut, black and white) and bicolor (black and white) in females, difficult to see on the water. The only dull drake of all ducks, therefore, when hunting you need to be careful not to confuse it with a female, from which it differs in the grayish streaky tone of the back and sides of the body and the gray, scaly, chest. At the same time, the head is brown, like the female. The main difference is the black uppertail and undertail; in the female they are speckled with red. The female is similar to a mallard, but more yellowish-orange. The male’s voice is “rrap-rrap”; in flight it can produce a shrill “pui”. The female quacks like a decoy, but her voice is higher and sharper. In some areas, the gray duck is listed in the Red Book.
Teal
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Photo by Andrew Dunn |
Slightly larger than the teal. Males have ash-gray wings on top, which distinguishes them well from females. In breeding plumage, the male’s head is reddish-brown, with a bright white stripe from the eye to the back of the head, which distinguishes it well from whistling drakes. In the uncertain light of dawn, drakes are distinguished from ducks by their lighter plumage, the constant raising of their heads at the same time as the uttering of crackling sounds “krerr-krerrrr”. The female is gray and makes a short, high-pitched quack. It differs from the female in that it has a longer beak and a whitish spot on the side at the base of the beak and the absence of a light spot on the side of the tail.
Wigeon
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Photo Kuribo-Wikipedia.org |
Medium sized duck. It is well distinguished from other species of river ducks by its bright white belly, for which it received the name “white belly”. The short beak is striking. The drake has a brown-red head with a golden-yellow forehead. Inexperienced hunters sometimes confuse the wigeon with the red-headed pochard, which lacks the rufous patch on its forehead and has a black chest rather than a rufous chestnut. The female is similar to a gray duck, but differs from it in the blackish-brown “mirror” on the wing. The drake emits a sharp, shrill whistle “wee-weeee”. This sound can be heard not only from birds sitting on the water, but also from flying flocks. They sit well on the stuffed animals and go to the decoy, which imitates the whistling of a drake. The female’s voice is a hoarse “caw” that sounds like “ra-karr-karr” and is similar to the voice of a female goldeneye. Migrating flocks fly at an angle or in an oblique line.