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Blue-winged teal
Anas discors
36.154, -95.9928
Field Notes
Description:
The Blue-winged Teal is 40 centimeters (16 in) long, with a wingspan of 58 centimeters (23 in), and a weight of 370 grams (13 oz). The adult male has a greyish blue head with a white facial crescent, a light brown body with a white patch near the rear and a black tail. The adult female is mottled brown, and has a whitish area at base of bill. Both sexes have sky-blue wing coverts, a green speculum, and yellow legs. They have two molts per year and a third molt in their first year. The call of the male is a short whistle; the female's call is a soft quack.
Habitat:
Blue-winged Teal inhabit shoreline more often than open water and prefer calm water or sluggish currents to fast water. They inhabit inland marshes, lakes, ponds, pools, and shallow streams with dense emergent vegetation. In coastal areas, breeding occurs in salt-marsh meadows with adjoining ponds or creeks. Blue-winged Teal winter on shallow inland freshwater marshes and brackish and saltwater marshes. They build their nests on dry ground in grassy sites such as bluegrass meadows, hayfields, and sedge meadows. They will also nest in areas with very short, sparse vegetation. Blue-winged Teal generally nest within several hundred yards of open water; however, nests have been found as far as 1 mile (1.6 km) away from water. Where the habitat is good, they nest communally.
Notes:
I didn't have the proper lens attached for this kind of shot, so I just did the best I could with my gear at the time. :-/
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