Blue-winged Teal
Encyclopedia
The Blue-winged Teal is a small dabbling duck from North America
.
The Blue-winged Teal is 40 centimetres (15.7 in) long, with a wingspan of 58 centimetres (22.8 in), and a weight of 370 grams (13.1 oz). The adult male has a greyish blue head with a white facial crescent, a light brown body with a white patch near the rear and a black tail. The adult female is mottled brown, and has a whitish area at base of bill. Both sexes have sky-blue wing coverts, a green speculum
, and yellow legs. They have two molts per year and a third molt in their first year. The call of the male is a short whistle; the female's call is a soft quack.
Anas
is by no means certain; a member of the "blue-winged" group also including the shoveler
s, it may be better placed with them in a separate genus Spatula. It is not a teal
in the strict sense, and also does not seem closely related to the Garganey
as was for some time believed. Indeed, its color pattern is strikingly reminiscent of the Australasian Shoveler
. DNA
analysis of this species has revealed it is very close genetically to the Cinnamon Teal
, another American teal with blue wings.
, northern Yukon Territory, northern Northwest Territory
, northeastern Canada
. Blue-winged Teal are rare in the desert southwest, and the west coast. The breeding habitat of the Blue winged Teal is marshes and ponds.
The breeding range extends from east-central Alaska and southern Mackenzie District
east to southern Quebec
and southwestern Newfoundland. In the contiguous United States it breeds from northeast California
east to central Louisiana
, central Tennessee
, and the Atlantic Coast. The western Blue-winged Teal inhabits that part of the breeding range west of the Appalachian Mountains
. The Atlantic Blue-winged Teal nests along the Atlantic Coast from New Brunswick
to Pea Island, North Carolina
.
They migrate
in flocks to winter in to the south of its breeding range. During migration, some birds may fly long distances over open ocean. They are occasional vagrants to Europe, where their yellow legs are a distinction from other small ducks like Common Teal
and Garganey. The Blue-winged Teal winters from southern California
to western and southern Texas, the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast and south to Central
and South America
. It is often seen wintering as far south as Brazil and central Chile.
Blue-winged Teal winter on shallow inland freshwater marshes and brackish and saltwater marshes. They build their nests on dry ground in grassy sites such as bluegrass meadows, hayfields, and sedge meadows. They will also nest in areas with very short, sparse vegetation. Blue-winged Teal generally nest within several hundred yards of open water; however, nests have been found as far as 1 miles (1.6 km) away from water. Where the habitat is good, they nest communally.
Blue-winged Teal often use heavy growth of bulrushes and cattails as escape cover. Grasses, sedges, and hayfields provide nesting cover for these ducks. Erik Fritzell reported that Blue-winged Teal nests located in light to sparse cover were more successful than those in heavy cover. Nesting success was 47% on grazed areas and 14% on ungrazed areas.
The Blue-winged Teal is primarily found in the northern prairies and parklands. It is the most abundant duck in the mixed-grass prairies of the Dakotas and the prairie provinces of Canada. The Blue-winged Teal is also found in wetlands of boreal forest associations, shortgrass prairies, tallgrass prairies, and deciduous woodlands.
This duck commonly inhabits wetland communities dominated by bulrush (Scirpus
spp.), cattail (Typha
spp.), pondweed (Potamogeton
spp.), sedges (Carex
spp.), Widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima
), and other emergent and aquatic vegetation. During molting, it often remains among extensive beds of bulrushes and cattails. The Blue-winged Teal favors areas dominated by bluegrass (Poa
spp.) for nesting. Hayfield
s and plant communities of Buckbrush (Ceonothus cuneatus) and sedges are also important as nest sites.
s.
Blue-winged Teal are generally the first ducks south in the fall and the last ones north in the spring. Adult drakes depart the breeding grounds well before adult hens and immatures. Most Blue-winged Teal flocks seen after mid-September are composed largely of adult hens and immatures. The northern regions experience a steady decline in Blue-winged Teal populations from early September until early November. Blue-winged Teal in central migration areas tend to remain through September, then diminish rapidly during October, with small numbers remaining until December. Large numbers of Blue-winged Teal appear on wintering grounds in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas in September.
Blue-winged Teal are among the last dabbling ducks to nest, generally nesting between April 15 and May 15. Few nests are started after mid-July. Chronology of nesting can vary from year to year as a result of weather conditions. At Delta Marshes, Manitoba
, Blue-winged Teal nesting was delayed a week in 1950 due to abnormally cold weather. The nest is a shallow depression on the ground lined with grass and down, usually surrounded by vegetation.
Blue-winged Teal generally lay 10 to 12 eggs. Delayed nesting and renesting efforts have substantially smaller clutches, averaging five to six eggs. Clutch size can also vary with the age of the hen. Yearlings tend to lay smaller clutches. Incubation takes 21 to 27 days. Blue-winged Teal are sexually mature after their first winter. During incubation
, the drake leaves its mate and moves to suitable molting cover where it becomes flightless for a period of 3 to 4 weeks.
Blue-winged Teal ducklings can walk to water within 12 hours after hatching but do not fledge until 6 to 7 weeks.
Blue-winged Teal are surface feeders and prefer to feed on mud flats, in fields, or in shallow water where there is floating and shallowly submerged vegetation plus abundant small aquatic animal life. They mostly eat vegetative matter consisting of seeds or stems and leaves of sedge, grass, pondweed, smartweed (Polygonum
spp.), duckweed (Lemna
spp.), Widgeongrass, and muskgrass (Chara
spp.). The seeds of plants that grow on mud flats, such as nutgrass (Cyperus
spp.), smartweed, millet (Panicum
spp.), and Rice Cut-grass (Leersia oryzoides
), are avidly consumed by this duck. One-fourth of the food consumed by Blue-winged Teal is animal matter such as mollusks, crustacean
s, and insects.
s, Snapping Turtle
s (Chlycha serpentina), dog
s, American Crow
s (Corvus brachyrhnchos), magpie
s (Pica spp.), ground squirrel
s, Coyote
s (Canis latrans), Red Fox
es (Vulpes fulva), Gray Fox
es (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), Raccoon
s (Procyon lotor), Long-tailed Weasel
s (Mustela frenata), American Mink
s (Mustela vison), Striped Skunk
s (Mephitis mephitis), Spotted Skunk
s (Spilogale putorius), and American Badger
s (Taxidea taxus).
During one study, about half of the nest failures of Blue-winged Teal were caused by mammal
s. Striped and Spotted Skunks were responsible for two-thirds of these losses. All nest losses caused by birds were attributed to either crows or magpies.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Description
Speculum feathers
The speculum is a patch, often distinctly coloured, on the inner remiges of some birds.Examples of the colour of the speculum in a number of ducks are:* Common Teal and Green-winged Teal: Iridescent green edged with buff....
, and yellow legs. They have two molts per year and a third molt in their first year. The call of the male is a short whistle; the female's call is a soft quack.
Taxonomy
The placement of the Blue-winged Teal in the genusGenus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Anas
Anas
Anas is a genus of dabbling ducks. It includes mallards, wigeons, teals, pintails and shovelers in a number of subgenera. Some authorities prefer to elevate the subgenera to genus rank...
is by no means certain; a member of the "blue-winged" group also including the shoveler
Shoveler
The shovelers, formerly known as shovellers, are four species of dabbling ducks with long, broad spatula-shaped beaks:* Red Shoveler, Anas platalea* Cape Shoveler, Anas smithii* Australasian Shoveler, Anas rhynchotis...
s, it may be better placed with them in a separate genus Spatula. It is not a teal
Teal
Teal may mean:* Teal , a medium greenish-blue color* Various ducks:** Baikal Teal, Anas formosa** Black Teal, Aythya novaeseelandiae** Blue-winged Teal, Anas discors** Brown Teal, Anas aucklandica** Campbell Teal Anas nesiotis...
in the strict sense, and also does not seem closely related to the Garganey
Garganey
The Garganey is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and western Asia, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India Santragachi and Australasia in winter, where large flocks can occur. This species was first described by Linnaeus in 1758...
as was for some time believed. Indeed, its color pattern is strikingly reminiscent of the Australasian Shoveler
Australasian Shoveler
The Australasian Shoveler is a species of dabbling duck in the genus Anas. It ranges from 46–53 cm. It lives in heavily vegetated swamps. In Australia it is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974...
. DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
analysis of this species has revealed it is very close genetically to the Cinnamon Teal
Cinnamon Teal
The Cinnamon Teal is a small, reddish dabbling duck found in marshes and ponds of western North and South America.thumb|left|Female Anas cyanoptera septentrionalium...
, another American teal with blue wings.
Distribution
The range is all of North America except western and northern AlaskaAlaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, northern Yukon Territory, northern Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
, northeastern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Blue-winged Teal are rare in the desert southwest, and the west coast. The breeding habitat of the Blue winged Teal is marshes and ponds.
The breeding range extends from east-central Alaska and southern Mackenzie District
District of Mackenzie
The District of Mackenzie was a regional administrative district of Canada's Northwest Territories. The district consisted of the portion of the Northwest Territories directly north of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan on Canada's mainland....
east to southern Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and southwestern Newfoundland. In the contiguous United States it breeds from northeast California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
east to central Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, central Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, and the Atlantic Coast. The western Blue-winged Teal inhabits that part of the breeding range west of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
. The Atlantic Blue-winged Teal nests along the Atlantic Coast from New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
to Pea Island, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
They migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
in flocks to winter in to the south of its breeding range. During migration, some birds may fly long distances over open ocean. They are occasional vagrants to Europe, where their yellow legs are a distinction from other small ducks like Common Teal
Common Teal
The Eurasian Teal or Common Teal is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurasia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian Teal is often called simply the Teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range...
and Garganey. The Blue-winged Teal winters from southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to western and southern Texas, the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast and south to Central
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. It is often seen wintering as far south as Brazil and central Chile.
Habitat
Blue-winged Teal inhabit shoreline more often than open water and prefer calm water or sluggish currents to fast water. They inhabit inland marshes, lakes, ponds, pools, and shallow streams with dense emergent vegetation. In coastal areas, breeding occurs in salt-marsh meadows with adjoining ponds or creeks. Blue-winged Teal use rocks protruding above water, muskrat houses, trunks or limbs of fallen trees, bare stretches of shoreline, or mud flats for resting sites.Blue-winged Teal winter on shallow inland freshwater marshes and brackish and saltwater marshes. They build their nests on dry ground in grassy sites such as bluegrass meadows, hayfields, and sedge meadows. They will also nest in areas with very short, sparse vegetation. Blue-winged Teal generally nest within several hundred yards of open water; however, nests have been found as far as 1 miles (1.6 km) away from water. Where the habitat is good, they nest communally.
Blue-winged Teal often use heavy growth of bulrushes and cattails as escape cover. Grasses, sedges, and hayfields provide nesting cover for these ducks. Erik Fritzell reported that Blue-winged Teal nests located in light to sparse cover were more successful than those in heavy cover. Nesting success was 47% on grazed areas and 14% on ungrazed areas.
The Blue-winged Teal is primarily found in the northern prairies and parklands. It is the most abundant duck in the mixed-grass prairies of the Dakotas and the prairie provinces of Canada. The Blue-winged Teal is also found in wetlands of boreal forest associations, shortgrass prairies, tallgrass prairies, and deciduous woodlands.
This duck commonly inhabits wetland communities dominated by bulrush (Scirpus
Scirpus
The plant genus Scirpus consists of a large number of aquatic, grass-like species in the family Cyperaceae , many with the common names club-rush or bulrush . Other common names are deergrass or grassweed.The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and grows in wetlands and moist soil...
spp.), cattail (Typha
Typha
Typha is a genus of about eleven species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. The genus has a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution, but is essentially cosmopolitan, being found in a variety of wetland habitats...
spp.), pondweed (Potamogeton
Potamogeton
Potamogeton is a genus of aquatic, mostly freshwater, plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. Most are known by the common name pondweed, although many unrelated plants may be called pondweed, such as Canadian pondweed...
spp.), sedges (Carex
Carex
Carex is a genus of plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges. Other members of the Cyperaceae family are also called sedges, however those of genus Carex may be called "true" sedges, and it is the most species-rich genus in the family. The study of Carex is known as...
spp.), Widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima
Ruppia maritima
Ruppia maritima is a species of aquatic plant known by the common name wigeongrass. Despite its Latin name, it is not a marine plant; is perhaps best described as a salt-tolerant freshwater species.-Distribution:...
), and other emergent and aquatic vegetation. During molting, it often remains among extensive beds of bulrushes and cattails. The Blue-winged Teal favors areas dominated by bluegrass (Poa
Poa
Poa is a genus of about 500 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass , bluegrass , tussock , and speargrass. "Poa" is Greek for fodder...
spp.) for nesting. Hayfield
Hayfield
Hayfield is a village and civil parish in the Borough of High Peak, in the county of Derbyshire, England. The village lies approximately east of New Mills, south of Glossop and north of Buxton by road....
s and plant communities of Buckbrush (Ceonothus cuneatus) and sedges are also important as nest sites.
Behavior
These birds feed by dabbling in shallow water at the edge of marshes or open water. They mainly eat plants; their diet may include molluscs and aquatic insectInsect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s.
Blue-winged Teal are generally the first ducks south in the fall and the last ones north in the spring. Adult drakes depart the breeding grounds well before adult hens and immatures. Most Blue-winged Teal flocks seen after mid-September are composed largely of adult hens and immatures. The northern regions experience a steady decline in Blue-winged Teal populations from early September until early November. Blue-winged Teal in central migration areas tend to remain through September, then diminish rapidly during October, with small numbers remaining until December. Large numbers of Blue-winged Teal appear on wintering grounds in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas in September.
Reproduction
The onset of courtship among immature Blue-winged Teal often starts in late January or early February. In areas south of the breeding grounds, Blue-winged Teal are more active in courtship during the spring migration than are most other ducks.Blue-winged Teal are among the last dabbling ducks to nest, generally nesting between April 15 and May 15. Few nests are started after mid-July. Chronology of nesting can vary from year to year as a result of weather conditions. At Delta Marshes, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Blue-winged Teal nesting was delayed a week in 1950 due to abnormally cold weather. The nest is a shallow depression on the ground lined with grass and down, usually surrounded by vegetation.
Blue-winged Teal generally lay 10 to 12 eggs. Delayed nesting and renesting efforts have substantially smaller clutches, averaging five to six eggs. Clutch size can also vary with the age of the hen. Yearlings tend to lay smaller clutches. Incubation takes 21 to 27 days. Blue-winged Teal are sexually mature after their first winter. During incubation
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
, the drake leaves its mate and moves to suitable molting cover where it becomes flightless for a period of 3 to 4 weeks.
Blue-winged Teal ducklings can walk to water within 12 hours after hatching but do not fledge until 6 to 7 weeks.
Food habits
Polygonum
Polygonum is a genus in the Polygonaceae family. Common names include knotweed, knotgrass, bistort, tear-thumb, mile-a-minute, and several others. In the Middle English glossary of herbs "Alphita" , it was known as ars-smerte. There have been various opinions about how broadly the genus should be...
spp.), duckweed (Lemna
Lemna
Lemna is a genus of free-floating aquatic plants from the duckweed family. These rapidly-growing plants have found uses as a model system for studies in community ecology, basic plant biology, in ecotoxicology, in production of biopharmaceuticals, and as a source of animal feeds for agriculture...
spp.), Widgeongrass, and muskgrass (Chara
Chara
-Geography:*Chara , a rural locality in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia*Chara Airport located there*Chara River, a river in Russia-Science:*Chara , a genus of algae in the family Characeae...
spp.). The seeds of plants that grow on mud flats, such as nutgrass (Cyperus
Cyperus
Cyperus is a large genus of about 600 species of sedges, distributed throughout all continents in both tropical and temperate regions. They are annual or perennial plants, mostly aquatic and growing in still or slow-moving water up to 0.5 m deep. The species vary greatly in size, with small species...
spp.), smartweed, millet (Panicum
Panicum
Panicum is a large genus of about 450 species of grasses native throughout the tropical regions of the world, with a few species extending into the northern temperate zone...
spp.), and Rice Cut-grass (Leersia oryzoides
Leersia oryzoides
Leersia oryzoides is a species of grass known by the common name rice cutgrass. It is a widespread grass native to Europe, Asia, and North America and present in many other regions, such as Australia, as an introduced species. This is a rhizomatous perennial grass growing to a maximum height...
), are avidly consumed by this duck. One-fourth of the food consumed by Blue-winged Teal is animal matter such as mollusks, crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, and insects.
Predators
Common predators of Blue-winged Teal include humans, snakeSnake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, Snapping Turtle
Snapping turtle
The common snapping turtle is a large freshwater turtle of the family Chelydridae. Its natural range extends from southeastern Canada, southwest to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, as far east as Nova Scotia and Florida and as far southwest as northeastern Mexico...
s (Chlycha serpentina), dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s, American Crow
American Crow
The American Crow is a large passerine bird species of the family Corvidae. It is a common bird found throughout much of North America...
s (Corvus brachyrhnchos), magpie
Magpie
Magpies are passerine birds of the crow family, Corvidae.In Europe, "magpie" is often used by English speakers as a synonym for the European Magpie, as there are no other magpies in Europe outside Iberia...
s (Pica spp.), ground squirrel
Ground squirrel
The ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known as marmots or prairie dogs, while the smaller and less...
s, Coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s (Canis latrans), Red Fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
es (Vulpes fulva), Gray Fox
Gray Fox
The gray fox is a mammal of the order Carnivora ranging throughout most of the southern half of North America from southern Canada to the northern part of South America...
es (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), Raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
s (Procyon lotor), Long-tailed Weasel
Long-tailed Weasel
The long-tailed weasel , also known as the bridled weasel or big stoat is a species of mustelid distributed from southern Canada throughout all the United States and Mexico, southward through all of Central America and into northern South America.-Evolution:The long-tailed weasel is the product of...
s (Mustela frenata), American Mink
American Mink
The American mink is a semi-aquatic species of Mustelid native to North America, though human intervention has expanded its range to many parts of Europe and South America. Because of this, it is classed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Since the extinction of the sea mink, the American mink is the...
s (Mustela vison), Striped Skunk
Striped Skunk
The striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis, is an omnivorous mammal of the skunk family Mephitidae. Found over most of the North American continent north of Mexico, it is one of the best-known mammals in Canada and the United States.-Description:...
s (Mephitis mephitis), Spotted Skunk
Spotted Skunk
The Eastern Spotted Skunk is smaller and more weasel-like than the striped skunk. The spotted skunks are faster and more agile than the striped skunks and they have better pelts. For the last 100 years, the Eastern Spotted Skunk was bred for its fine silky fur...
s (Spilogale putorius), and American Badger
American Badger
The American badger is a North American badger, somewhat similar in appearance to the European badger. It is found in the western and central United States, northern Mexico and central Canada, as well as in certain areas of southwestern British Columbia.Their habitat is typified by open...
s (Taxidea taxus).
During one study, about half of the nest failures of Blue-winged Teal were caused by mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s. Striped and Spotted Skunks were responsible for two-thirds of these losses. All nest losses caused by birds were attributed to either crows or magpies.
See also
- Male traumatic insemination behavior.
External links
- Blue-winged Teal at USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Blue-winged Teal at Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Blue-winged Teal Information and Photos at South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Blue-winged Teal Information at eNature.com
- Blue-winged Teal videos, photos, and sounds on the Internet Bird Collection