The Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) is a species of bird in the duck, goose, and swan family Anatidae. One of the smaller members of the dabbling duck group, it occurs in North America, where it breeds from southern Alaska to Nova Scotia, and south to northern Texas. It winters along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and south into the Caribbean islands and Central America.
The Blue-winged Teal is 16 inches long, and weighs 13 oz). The adult male has a grayish-blue head with a white facial crescent, a light brown body with a white patch near the rear and a black tail. The adult female is mottled brown and has a whitish area at the base of bill. Both sexes have sky-blue wing coverts, a green speculum, and yellow legs. [Wikipedia]
Blue-winged Teal Facts [All About Birds]
- 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.
- The oldest recorded Blue-winged Teal was a male, and at least 23 years, 3 months old. He had been banded in Saskatchewan and was found in Cuba.