Ringed Teal - Profile | Traits | Facts | Habitat | Diet

The ringed teal, scientific name Callonetta leucophrys is a small duck of South American forests. It is the one species of the genus Callonetta. Usually positioned with the dabbling geese (Anatinae), this species may very well be nearer to shelducks and belong within the subfamily Tadorninae; its closest relative is presumably the maned duck.

Ringed teal Profile

The Ringed Teal is a small dabbling duck (typically known as a Perching duck) from South America.

The Ringed Teal has robust pointed claws on their feet permitting them to perch in bushes.

Ringed Teals are wooden geese that are 14 to fifteen inches in size. They solely weigh about 12 ounces. Their wingspans are roughly 28 inches throughout. They have brown eyes.

Ringed Teals have slender grey-blue bills which have many tiny, plate-like ridges alongside the sides known as lamellae. The lamellae are coarse and permit them to chop vegetation like teeth.

Ringed Teal adults have stunning iridescent green plumage. They will be recognized particularly by the white patch in front of a shiny green patch of plumage (known as the speculum).

The male Ringed Teal, known as a drake, has a speckled, pinkish breast and a light tan head that’s bordered by a placing black line of plumage.

The black line extends right down to the bottom of the neck after which partially around it, forming an incomplete ring. Males even have darkish, chestnut backs and gray flanks.

Female Ringed Teals, known as hens, are much less vibrant. They have an olive-brown back, a barred chest and stomach, and white blotches on the head. They have a darkish tail and pale rump.

Ringed Teals have light pink legs and toes with sharp robust claws that permit them to perch high in bushes. They are thought of as dabbling geese. Dabbling means they swim and dip their bills, heads, and necks into the water to filter out and forage for meals however they don’t dive or submerge their bodies underwater.

They live close to secluded pools, small streams, swampy tropical forests, ponds, marshy clearings in low woodlands, and sometimes in forested habitats.

They are Omnivore – aquatic crops, bugs, seeds, small fish, snails

Ringed Teals kind robust pair bonds, which can or is probably not live long. They nest in holes or different tree cavities that they’ve lined with down. They lay an average clutch of 6 to 11 eggs. Both parents assist incubate the eggs.

The ducklings are precocial, meaning they’re properly developed after they hatch. Once the eggs have hatched the parents go away the nest. The ducklings will follow by leaping from the nest.

They waterproof their feathers by rubbing against their mom’s belly plumage. They comply with their mom to water and eat on their very own. They are capable of fly roughly 53 days after hatching.

Ringed Teal females’ vocalization is a harsh “quack”, whereas the males’ is a soft, long whistle.

Range

Ringed teals live in forested wetlands in South America from southern Bolivia, Paraguay, and southwestern Brazil, to northeastern Argentina and Uruguay.

Ringed teal Description

The female and male stay vibrant all through the year, missing an eclipse plumage. The drake has a wealthy chestnut back, pale gray flanks, and a salmon-colored breast speckled in black.

A black band runs from the top of its head right down to the nape. Females have an olive-brownish back with the head blotched and striated in white, with penciled barring on a pale chest and stomach.

Both have a darkish tail, a contrasting pale rump, and a particular white patch on the wing. Bills are gray and legs and feet are pink in each sex.

Pairs simply bond. Their contact calls are a cat-like mee-oowing in geese, a lingering peewoo in drakes. Most ringed teals average 14–15 inches (36–38 cm) long, with a 28-inch (71 cm) wingspan.

Individuals sometimes weigh 11–12 ounces (310–340 g). Ringed teals even have webbed toes with long, pointed claws focusing on permitting the birds to sit down on tree branches. These specialized toes are distinctive, as most waterfowl can not simply stay perched on tree branches.

Ringed teal Appearance

The male has a Whitish head, a Blue/Grey bill with a Blacktip, a Chestnut back, pale Grey flanks, and a Salmon-colored breast with Black speckles.

A Black band runs from the top of its head down the back of its neck. The rump is white, the tail Black, and the legs and feet are pink. They even have a particular white patch on the wings.

The feminine has an Olive Brownback with a light-colored head with Brown blotching, a pale chest, and a stomach. Other options are just like the male.

Ringed teal Habitats

Their habitats embrace tropical, swampy forests and marshy clearings in well-wooded lowlands, in addition to secluded pools and small streams.

As a predominately aquatic species, ringed teals eat quite a lot of aquatic crops and invertebrates, in addition to any seeds that may be discovered. Ringed teals are labeled as “dabblers” versus “divers”.

Dabblers are likely to feed on plant and bug materials close to the floor of the water, whereas divers feed on crops, invertebrates, and fish deeper under the water’s floor.

Although dabblers could submerge their heads and higher torso whereas placing their tails up within the air, often known as “up-ending”, they not often utterly submerge themselves and keep under for durations of time, such because the divers do.

Lifespan

Ringed teals can live as much as 15 years in captivity, nevertheless, an average life span isn’t identified for wild people.

Ringed teal Breeding

The ringed teal breeds in north-west Argentina and Paraguay, additionally occurring in Bolivia, Brazil, and Uruguay. Upon reaching sexual maturity, ringed teals kind robust pair bonds. These pair bonds sometimes final a single breeding season however can final for the lifetime of a pair.

A pair bond begins with the male courting the feminine. In common, courting consists of huge quantities of preening, flashing the iridescent green patches on the wings, and swimming in determine eights around the feminine of curiosity whereas vocalizing.

Once a pair bond is solidified, mating happens within the water. Nests are normally created out of hole holes in tree cavities. The nests are lined with down and the feminine tends to be the defender of the nest.

The male, nevertheless, will defend the feminine towards different males and potential predators all through their pair bond. Females sometimes lay 6-12 eggs which can be white in color.

The eggs are incubated for an average of 29 days. Both females and males take part in incubating the eggs, nevertheless, one captive research reveals that the females have been solely answerable for incubation. Hatched chicks are precocial.

Precocial chicks are principally developed upon hatching, have a layer of down feathers, can stroll, operate, and primarily feed themselves.

Although the chicks hatch with a layer of feather down, it’s not waterproof. Since the chicks spend most of their time within the water, they rub on the parents, in doing so, they acquire important oils wanted for waterproofing.

Both the female and male play a big position in elevating and defending the chicks till they fledge at 50–55 days old. The male, nevertheless, tends to be probably the most invested and can typically be seen following behind separated or slower chicks.

Until fledging, the chicks keep in an in-depth group and learn shortly from their parents forage, swim effectively, and keep away from predators.

Often, the bonded pair is ready to produce two teams of offspring in a single breeding season. The male will proceed to take care of the first group of chicks, whereas the feminine incubates the second group of eggs.

The ringed teal’s pair-bonding behavior makes reproduction very efficient. By the end of a breeding season, it’s possible for a bonded pair to have laid and hatched as much as 24 offspring. Breeding time March to September.

Status

Least Concern

Ringed Teal – Profile | Traits | Facts | Habitat | Diet | Breeding