Teal is a small dabbling duck that is known for its abundance. Migratory birds feed on animal and plant food and live in flocks. Prefers to live in northern and temperate climates. During the nesting period, teals split into pairs. A couple is created for a long time, sometimes for life. They are favorite objects of sport and commercial hunting, despite their very small size.
Description and features
Teal ducks are ubiquitous and got their name from the characteristic sounds they make – “teal-teal”.The body length of males is about 40 centimeters, in females - 32-35 centimeters, an adult reaches a maximum weight of only 600 grams. It is difficult to distinguish a duck from a drake with the naked eye, especially outside the mating season, when teal of both sexes have dark plumage, with gray and brown tones predominating.
Types of whistle
There are about 20 species of teal in total, but only 4 of them are found in the Russian Federation. Teal differ in the shade of their plumage, characteristic sounds, favorite habitats and behavioral characteristics:
- Teal-whistle. The smallest representative of the duck breed, the weight of males barely reaches 450 grams, and that of females is even less, the body length is about 33-35 centimeters. Distinctive features are wings with pointed ends and a bright blue-green stripe running near the eyes on the red head. The plumage is gray, with a light stripe along the wing. This teal whistles loudly, which is why it deserves its name.
- Teal Gadget. He received his nickname due to the fact that he cracks loudly; he was also nicknamed the blue-winged one, or the corncrake. Larger in size than the whistler, it also differs in its elongated gray beak with a rufous base.
- Teal-kloktun. During the mating season it looks elegant and impressive. The head is decorated with a black cap; a golden stripe with white and black edges extends from its sides. The chest is bright pink, the sides of the body are blue. They were nicknamed kloktuns for their cries of “klo-klo-klo” while flying and being on the water.
- Marbled teal. The plumage is gray, with characteristic light spots on the gray-brown body. The marbled bird species is becoming extinct.
All representatives of the teal breed fly well thanks to their wings with sharp ends. They instantly soar into the air, they do not need a run-up.The flight is fast and the landing is silent.
Where they live and lifestyle
The teal's usual habitat is a temperate climate throughout Eurasia. In Russia, the bird can be recognized in almost any region, with the exception of the cold northern regions. Teal ducks nest in Asia and the Far East. The smallest variety of teal (marbled) nests in the Volga delta, on small lakes of the Caspian lowland. During migration and wintering, ducks are located in Western and Southern Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Birds prefer to winter on lakes, water meadows, river deltas, and overgrown sea bays. During periods of searching for a mate and creating nests, their favorite places are small lakes and swamps located in forest-tundra strips. In the reservoir, thickets of reeds and sedges are preferred, where they settle in floodplains.
Teal diet
Teal have a mixed diet - they can feed on both animal food (in the spring and summer seasons) and plant food (in autumn and winter). When going out to hunt, they completely immerse their heads in the water, while their tail remains above the surface.
What they managed to capture during the dive, the bird passes through its beak, filtering it from the silt. They can also collect food from the surface and ground.
Teals eat everything they find in the creeks:
- shellfish;
- worms;
- small crustaceans;
- insects (adults and their larvae);
- sedge;
- grain of large plants;
- seeds and roots of crops growing along the banks;
- duckweed, cereals, rice.
During hunting, teal remain above the surface of the water because they do not know how to dive - young ducklings have this ability, but with age they lose it.
Reproduction and lifespan
Ducks reach sexual maturity at one year of age.Teal begin to select partners for themselves even during the migration; some birds begin mating only at the nesting site. They arrive at the end of March or mid-April, as soon as areas of open water appear.
The courtship process is loud and noisy. The male circles around the female, shows off his bright outfit, flaps his wings and makes loud sounds, can lower his beak into the water, and then sharply lift his head to create a fountain of splashes.
Birds build nests with a diameter of 15-18 centimeters 150 meters from the water in sedge bushes, windbreaks, and willow bushes. They dig holes and line them with feathers and down. The female lays 8-15 eggs and incubates them for 21-24 days. Immediately after the last egg has been laid, the drakes create male flocks and move to areas of seasonal feather replacement.
Ducklings hatch in June-July, immediately after birth they are able to independently obtain food for themselves, are covered with a dense layer of fluff, and actively swim, diving under water. The duck flies when it is one month old. As their offspring grow older, teals change their feathers and wander in flocks to their usual places of food, waiting for the autumn migration to the south. Teal are considered the longest-lived of all duck species. They live to be 18-19 years old, and sometimes up to 21 years old.
Hunting these ducks
Despite the small size of the teal, this duck is very popular among hunters, since the meat of this bird is classified as a delicacy in cooking. The yield of clean meat after slaughter is almost 70% of the total weight of the duck.
The marbled duck and the kloktun are endangered species of ducks, which is why they are listed in the Red Book; the gadders have a larger number.But hunting in the Russian Federation is only allowed for whistlers.
Teal is a bird that can be found at almost any latitude in Russia and throughout Eurasia. Despite being very small, the duck attracts hunters, causing the population to decline in recent years. The ability to take off almost vertically, fly excellently and quietly gives teal the opportunity to hide in small shady ponds, inaccessible to large breed ducks.
