Teal

The male (with reproductive plumage) from a distance appears grey with a dark head, which is brownish- reddish with a green iridescent stripe running from the eye to the base of the neck. The body is then white-grey with black very fine spots, brown on the chest and a whitish belly. Two quite large and very distinctive yellow "patches" can be seen at the base of the tail. The female appears full brown with light brown outlines on the wings and also a whitish belly. The mirror on the wings (metallic coloured feathers, typical for any duck species!) is black and green with a white band on top. Beak all-black in the male and grey-brown in the female and grey-brown feet.

There are two subspecies in the world: the Anas crecca crecca that spreads in Eurasia and the A. crecca carolinensis that spreads in the Americas, both considered subspecies of the Northern Hemisphere.

The Teal has a permanent presence in Central and Western Europe, while its northern plumages (spreading as far north as the northernmost coast of Eurasia, see Siberia!) are purely migratory and overwinter on the southern continent as far north as North Africa.

It lives in wetlands, mainly freshwater, such as marshes, lakes, rivers and their estuaries, lagoons, streams and also in coastal bays.

In Lesvos we will see it in many wetlands with a population of 200-300 individuals (in recent years) overwintering in Kalloni Saltpan.

• It is the smallest of the "foam ducks", the ducks that do not dive underwater but feed near the surface.
• It has a fast and agile flight and can even take off directly from the surface of the water (without the need for propulsion).
• It feeds on a variety of plant and animal materials such as seeds and leaves of aquatic plants, insects, molluscs and crustaceans.
• They forage mainly at night in areas where they overwinter (such as Greece) and sleep during the day. They leave for feeding areas half an hour after sunset and return from these areas 20 minutes before sunrise.
• The male acquires his beautiful plumage gradually from October for the formation of pairs which takes place in the winter and retains it until the beginning of the following summer, when the pairs separate.
• For pair formation usually several (up to 25) males court one or a few females.
• The call is a "tri-tri" which is often heard where the birds are feeding or resting.