Eurasian Teal

The Eurasian Teal is the smallest dabbling duck of the Palearctic region. Despite its small size, it is a slender and slender bird. In addition, it is a common and gregarious bird. Sexual dimorphism is particularly marked in breeding adults. The breeding male deserves to be seen up close as the details of its plumage are subtle. The upper parts, the sides of the neck and the flanks are grey, a color produced by fine dark grey vermiculation on a cream background. The chest is cream to pink, with grey punctuations and the abdomen white without spots. The head is chestnut with a large dark green crescent on each side that encompasses the brown eye, outlines the ear and descends behind the neck. The beak is thin and very dark grey. On the side of the body, a white line highlighted by black usually appears, behind which often appears an emerald green area. Its nature is revealed on the bird in flight. Finally, as is often the case in the family, the caudal region is highlighted. Here, in lateral view, there is a chestnut cream triangle bordered by black which serves as a visual signal at the time of the nuptial parade. The legs are grey. The male in flight shows the characteristics of its wings. Firstly, in a top view is what is called the mirror at the level of the arm, common in this family. It has a white and reddish streak formed by the white and reddish tips of the large wing coverts. Just behind, the secondary remiges are colored black for the outside and green for the inside. Their white ends form a thin white trailing edge. In an underside view, one is struck by the paleness of the underside of the wing, in particular the axillaries and the large coverts are pure white. The male in eclipse has a female type plumage, so that birds in late summer, adults and young, cannot be easily sexed in the field.The adult female is very different. She is dead leaf colored like most surface ducks in order to go unnoticed at the nest. The upper parts are dark brown with creamy, beige or reddish liseret and designs. The underparts are lighter due to wider pale borders to the feathers. The head is finely spotted with brown. A faint pale eyebrow is tucked between the dark brown cap and a dark loral and post-ocular line. The beak is paler at the base than that of the male, with a yellow commissural line. The iris is brown. The wing mirror is the same as the male's. A white longitudinal stripe bordering the caudal region is quite typical. The juvenile is very similar to the adult female and can be distinguished by its spotted belly and perhaps a beak with more yellow.