Cinnamon teal

Spatula cyanoptera

The cinnamon teal is a species of duck found in western North and South America. It is a small dabbling duck, with bright reddish plumage on the male and duller brown plumage on the female. It lives in marshes and ponds, and feeds mostly on plants.
Cinnamon Teal Drake A male cinnamon teal stands guard as his mate (not pictured) rustles through the grass, likely to a nesting site. These are some of the more beautifully colored waterfowl I have seen, in my opinion. Photographed in north Idaho. Anas cyanoptera,Cinnamon teal,Geotagged,Idaho,Spring,United States,birds,waterfowl

Appearance

The adult male has a cinnamon-red head and body with a brown back, a red eye and a dark bill. The adult female has a mottled brown body, a pale brown head, brown eyes and a grey bill and is very similar in appearance to a female blue-winged teal; however its overall color is richer, the lore spot, eye line, and eye ring are less distinct. Its bill is longer and more spatulate. Male juvenile resembles a female cinnamon or blue-winged teal but their eyes are red. They are 16 in long, have a 22-inch wingspan, and weigh 14 oz. They have 2 adult molts per year and a third molt in their first year.
Cinnamon teal  Anas cyanoptera,Cinnamon teal,Geotagged,Spring,United States

Distribution

Their breeding habitat is marshes and ponds in western United States and extreme southwestern Canada, and are rare visitors to the east coast of the United States. Cinnamon teal generally select new mates each year. They are migratory and 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.
Cinnamon Teal or Spatula cyanoptera  Anas cyanoptera,Cinnamon teal,Fall,Geotagged,Spatula cyanoptera,United States

Behavior

These birds feed by dabbling. They mainly eat plants; their diet may include molluscs and aquatic insects.

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Status: Least concern
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassAves
OrderAnseriformes
FamilyAnatidae
GenusSpatula
SpeciesS. cyanoptera