Cinnamon Teal

Overview

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.

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.

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.