Cinnamon teal
| Cinnamon teal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Anas cyanoptera septentrionalium drake (male) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Subfamily: | Anatinae |
| Genus: | Anas |
| Species: | A. cyanoptera |
| Binomial name | |
| Anas cyanoptera Vieillot, 1816 | |
| Subspecies | |
|
4 living, 1 possibly extinct; see text | |
The cinnamon teal (Anas cyanoptera) is a species of duck found in western North and South America. It is a small dabbling duck, with bright reddish plumage on the male and duller brown plumage on the female. It lives in marshes and ponds, and feeds mostly on plants.
Description
The adult male has a cinnamon-red head and body with a brown back, a red eye and a dark bill. The adult female has a mottled brown body, a pale brown head, brown eyes and a grey bill and is very similar in appearance to a female blue-winged teal; however its overall color is richer, the lore spot, eye line, and eye ring are less distinct. Its bill is longer and more spatulate. Male juvenile resembles a female cinnamon or blue-winged teal but their eyes are red.[2][3] They are 16 in (41 cm) long, have a 22-inch (560 mm) wingspan, and weigh 14 oz (400 g).[3] They have 2 adult molts per year and a third molt in their first year.[3]
Distribution
Their breeding habitat is marshes and ponds in western United States and extreme southwestern Canada, and are rare visitors to the east coast of the United States.[3] Cinnamon teal generally select new mates each year. They are migratory and most winter in northern South America and the Caribbean,[4] generally not migrating as far as the blue-winged teal. Some winter in California and southwestern Arizona.[2]
Behavior
These birds feed by dabbling. They mainly eat plants; their diet may include molluscs and aquatic insects.
Taxonomy
The cinnamon teal is a member of the genus Anas, the largest genus of dabbling ducks.
They are known to interbreed with blue-winged teals,[2] which are very close relatives.
Subspecies are:
- Anas cyanoptera septentrionalium (Oberholser, 1906) northern cinnamon teal breeds from British Columbia to northwestern New Mexico, and they winter in northwestern South America.[5]
- Anas cyanoptera tropica (Snyder & Lumsden, 1951) tropical cinnamon teal occurs in the Cauca Valley and Magdalena Valley in Colombia.[5]
- Anas cyanoptera borreroi (Snyder & Lumsden, 1951) Borrero's cinnamon teal (possibly extinct) occurs in the eastern Andes of Colombia with records of apparently resident birds from northern Ecuador.[5] It is named for Colombian ornithologist José Ignacio Borrero.
- Anas cyanoptera orinoma (Snyder & Lumsden, 1951) Andean cinnamon teal occurs in the Altiplano of Peru, northern Chile and Bolivia.[5]
- Anas cyanoptera cyanoptera (Vieillot, 1816) Argentine cinnamon teal occurs in southern Peru, southern Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands.[5]
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Anas cyanoptera". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- 1 2 3 Dunn, J (2006)
- 1 2 3 4 Floyd T (2008)
- ↑ Herrera et al. (2006)
- 1 2 3 4 5 Clements, J (2007)
Works cited
- Clements, James, (2007) The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World, Cornell University Press, Ithaca
- Dunn, J. & Alderfer, J. (2006) National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America 5th Ed.
- Floyd, T (2008) Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America Harper Collins, NY
- Herrera, Néstor; Rivera, Roberto; Ibarra Portillo, Ricardo & Rodríguez, Wilfredo (2006): Nuevos registros para la avifauna de El Salvador. ["New records for the avifauna of El Salvador"]. Boletín de la Sociedad Antioqueña de Ornitología 16(2): 1-19. [Spanish with English abstract]PDF fulltext
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cinnamon Teal. |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Anas cyanoptera |
- "Cinnamon Teal media". Internet Bird Collection.
- Cinnamon Teal, Birds of North America Online
- Cinnamon Teal Species Account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Cinnamon Teal photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
- Interactive range map of Anas cyanoptera at IUCN Red List maps