Silver teal

Silver teal
A male in Brazil
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Anatidae
Genus:Spatula
Species: S. versicolor
Binomial name
Spatula versicolor
(Vieillot, 1816)
Subspecies
  • S. v. versicolor (Vieillot, 1816)
    (northern silver teal)
  • S. v. fretensis (King, 1831))
    (southern silver teal)
Synonyms

Anas versicolor Vieillot, 1816

The silver teal or versicolor teal (Spatula versicolor) is a species of dabbling duck in the genus Spatula. It breeds in South America.

Between April and June they prefer reed beds and will lay 6 to 10 creamy-pink eggs. As with swans and geese, both parents will rear the ducklings.[2] A pair may bond long term. It lives on fresh water in small groups, and feeds primarily on vegetable matter such as seeds and aquatic plants.

The silver teal's range includes southern Bolivia, southern Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands,[1] and the Falkland Islands.[3] The southernmost birds migrate to southern Brazil in the winter.

Silver teals are on the whole placid ducks but may be protective of eggs, young and females.[2]

Description

They have a black cap that extends below the eyes, and a bluish bill with a yellow tip. They also have a green speculum with a white border.[4]

The Puna teal was previously regarded as a subspecies of this bird. Currently, there are two subspecies:

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2012). "Spatula versicolor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. 1 2 McKinney, Frank; Brewer, Gwen (1989-01-01). "Parental Attendance and Brood Care in Four Argentine Dabbling Ducks". The Condor. 91 (1): 131–138. doi:10.2307/1368156. JSTOR 1368156.
  3. 1 2 3 Clements, J. (2007)
  4. ↑ ArthurGrosset.com

References


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