Anas crecca - Common Teal
Feather characters. Barbules are from short until medium length (0.7-1.6 mm). Concentration of pigment varies from absent to lightly stippled. In dry slides nodes may look very dark. Occasionally some very lightly stippled pigment may be seen in the internodes. Triangular nodes are located on distal end, covering less than 30% of the total barbule length. On proximal end, nodal structures are visible but undeveloped and hardly swollen, and thus too small to qualify as nodes (14-19 per mm). An abrupt increase in size of nodes is seen distally along the barbules. In a very few cases triangular nodes may not be present. Villi are absent and internodes are occasionally kinked. Short and minute prongs are mostly located on distal end of the barbules, on both sides of the pennulum. Their length varies; the longest ones may be longer than 0.01 mm, but shorter than half the length of the adjacent internode.
Field characters. Size 34-38 cm. Weight: male 364 g ( -454), female 318 g ( -409) (Dunning, 1993). Smallest European duck. Male with conspicuous, horizontal white band on shoulders, chestnut brown head with broad green eye patch which extends back to the nape, yellow-buff patch on either side of black undertail; upperparts and flanks vermiculated grey, underparts white, breast cream with dark spots. At long distance male appears grey with dark head. Both sexes with speculum half metallic-green and half black, bordered by whitish bars at front and back; bill grey, legs brown-grey. Female with mottled brown upperparts and flanks, darker crown; underparts spotted in summer, whiter in winter. Juvenile slightly darker than female with paler bill; male eclipse like female. Female resembles female Garganey but with less distinct head pattern, orange on bill base and white stripe on outer undertail-coverts. Very agile on the wing, flies rapidly and erratically in compact flocks.
Voice. Male has a low, musical "krit, krit", female a high, sharp "queck".
Distribution. Common breeding bird in northern parts of the region, less common in more southern parts. Map: see MapIt.
Habitat. In breeding season prefers moorland, heath pools and bogs, often nesting well away from water. Outside breeding season on all sorts of fresh, brackish or saline waters. Favours borders between open shallow water and emergent floating or overhanging vegetation.
Food. Feeding method depends on habitat, season, time of day, and sex. Food items vary with locality and season: chiefly seeds of aquatic plants in autumn and winter, more animal prey in summer (molluscs, insect larvae, waterbeetles, crustaceans and annelids).