Silver teal

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

Silver teal
A male in Brazil

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
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

Anas versicolor - MHNT

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.[3][4]

The silver teal's range includes southern Bolivia, southern Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands,[1] and the Falkland Islands.[5] 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.[6]

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

Footnotes
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Spatula versicolor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  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. "Silver Teals | Beauty of Birds". www.beautyofbirds.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  4. "Anas versicolor Vieillot 1816 - Encyclopedia of Life". eol.org. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  5. Clements, J. (2007)
  6. ArthurGrosset.com
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References


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