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Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Waterfowl (Order Anseriformes)

-Ducks, Geese, and Swans (Family Anatidae)

-Shovelers and Allies (Genus Spatula)

-Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)


The Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) is a small dabbling duck recognized by a chalky-blue patch on its wings, visible in flight, which is present in both sexes. Breeding males have a dark, speckled body, a gray-blue head, a distinct white crescent-shaped mark in front of their eye, and a white patch on their flanks. Females are mottled brown with a dark eye stripe and lack the bold markings of the male. Both sexes have yellow legs and are typically found in shallow freshwater and brackish marshes and ponds.

Blue-winged Teal

Spatula discors

Diet

  • Primarily aquatic seeds, sedges, grasses, pondweeds, and other aquatic vegetation.

  • Also feeds on aquatic insects, insect larvae, snails, crustaceans, worms, and other small invertebrates, especially during the breeding season.

  • Feeds by dabbling in shallow water, tipping forward to reach submerged vegetation, or picking food from the water's surface and mud.

Range

  • Breeds across southern Canada, much of the United States, and locally in northern Mexico.

  • Winters from the southern United States through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and much of South America.

  • A common winter visitor to the Zihuatanejo region, where it frequents coastal lagoons, marshes, ponds, flooded fields, estuaries, mangroves, and freshwater wetlands.

  • Most abundant from September through April.

Male / Female

  • Male (breeding): Slate-blue head with a distinctive crescent-shaped white facial patch in front of the eye, black bill, chestnut breast with black spots, gray body, and conspicuous powder-blue wing coverts visible in flight and at rest.

  • Female: Mottled brown overall with a dark eye stripe, grayish bill, and the same blue wing patch, although it is less conspicuous.

  • Non-breeding male: Resembles the female but usually retains hints of the facial crescent and blue wing patch.

  • The sexes are easily distinguished during the breeding season by the male's striking facial crescent.

Size

  • Length: 34–43 cm (13.5–17 in)

  • Wingspan: 58–64 cm (23–25 in)

  • Weight: 280–500 g (9.9–17.6 oz)

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