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Cinnamon Teal

Anas cyanopteraOrder: ANSERIFORMESFamily: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)

Cinnamon Teal Male Portrait
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General

Cinnamon Teal: Small dabbling duck with scaled, dark brown upperparts and cinnaon-brown underparts, head, and neck. Eyes are red and bill is relatively long and dark. Green speculum and pale blue shoulder patch on wing are separated by white line. Female and juvenile are brown-scaled overall with dull blue shoulder patches, dark eyes, and pale edges around upper mandibles. Eclipse male resembles female but has faint cinnamon-brown wash over most of body, red eyes, and dark bill.

Range and Habitat

Cinnamon Teal: Breeds in western U.S. near Great Salt Lake, Malheur Basin, San Luis Valley, and Cariboo-Chilcotin parklands and winters in Mexico and Central America. Preferred habitats include marshes and shallow ponds.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"peep", "peer"

Interesting Facts

  • The Cinnamon Teal is the only duck with separate breeding populations in North America and South America.
  • The female often places her nest below matted, dead stems of vegetation so it is completely concealed on all sides and from above. She approaches the nest through tunnels in the vegetation.
  • A group of cinnamon teal are collectively known as a "seasoning" of teal.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Cinnamon Teal
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Anas cyanoptera
Length14 - 17 Inches
Wingspan27 Inches

Cinnamon Teal

Cinnamon Teal: Small dabbling duck, scaled, dark brown upperparts, cinnaon-brown underparts, head, neck. Eyes are red and bill is relatively long and dark. Green speculum, pale blue shoulder patch on wing are separated by white line. Yellow-gray legs. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Song: "peep", "peer"

● Foraging & Feeding: Cinnamon Teal: Diet includes seeds, aquatic plants, snails, and insects; forages by skimming water with bill or dabbling below surface.

● Breeding & nesting: Cinnamon Teal: Nine to twelve white or pink buff eggs are laid in a shallow cup of grass lined with down. Nest is built by the female and usually hidden in tall vegetation 100 feet or more from water. Incubation ranges from 21 to 25 days and is carried out by the female. Young fly in about 49 days.

● Similar species: Cinnamon Teal: Male is unmistakable. Immature and eclipse male look similar to female Green-winged Teal, but have richer brown body, red-orange eyes, and less distinct eye-stripe.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Cinnamon Teal Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Cinnamon Teal: Breeds in western U.S. near Great Salt Lake, Malheur Basin, San Luis Valley, and Cariboo-Chilcotin parklands and winters in Mexico and Central America. Preferred habitats include marshes and shallow ponds.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common to common
MigrationMigratory
Weight14.4 Ounces