The length of the blue-winged teal is 40 cm, the wingspan is about 57 cm, the weight is about 400 g. It has 2 molts per year and a third molt in the first year of life. The adult male has a grayish-blue head with a white sickle on his face, a light brown body with a white spot on the back, and a black tail. The adult female is variegated with a whitish area at the base of the nose. Both sexes have a blue mirror and yellow paws. In flight, they especially rapidly flap their wings.
The cry of males is a short whistle, females emit soft quacking.
Nutrition
Egg
Spatula discors -
Toulouse Museum These birds feed on the surface of small puddles on the edge of swamps or open water bodies. They eat mostly plants; their diet may include shellfish and aquatic insects .
Reproduction
A nest with a small depression in the soil, lined with grass and down, usually surrounded by vegetation.
Blue-winged teals make nests in swamps and ponds in all of northern and central parts of North America . They are common throughout North America with the exception of Western and Northern Alaska , Yukon Canada, and Northeast Canada . Occasionally they are found in southwestern deserts and on the west coast.
Migration
Blue-winged teals fly in flocks to Central and South America . Some birds winter on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and California . During flights, some birds can fly long distances across the open ocean. In rare cases, they migrate to Europe and stand out with yellow paws against the background of other small ducks: a brown teal and a teal cracker.
