Ringed Teal

NAME:

Ringed Teal

CLASS:

Aves

GENUS:

Callonetta

SPECIES:

C. leucophrys

LENGTH:

13-15″ tall, 24″ Wingspan

WEIGHT:

6-16oz.

LIFESPAN:

10-12 yrs.

DIET:

Pond Weed, Maize, Wheat, Worms, Small Frogs

RANGE

South America

HABITAT

Ponds, Marshes, Forested Areas

CHARACTERISTICS

Ringed Teals have webbed feet and spend most of their time in or near water. They also spend time perching in trees. Females are brown with a dark tail and wings. Throat, cheeks and underparts of the bird are white. The bill is grey and black. As with most birds, male Ringed Teals are more brightly colored with shades of olive green and chestnut red.

REPRODUCTION

During courtship, males and females chase one another as well as other pairs in “mock pursuit”. Nest are built in cavities and contain clutches of 5-13 eggs. Chicks hatch after an incubation of 23 days.

ANIMAL FUN FACT!

Female Ringed Teals will often lay eggs in another female’s nest. The second female hatches and raises the chicks as her own.

Unregulated sport hunters kill millions of Ringed Teals per year.

Ringed Teals appear to limp when they walk on land because of head-bobbing on every other step.