The Four Keys to ID
- Size & Shape
A relatively small duck with sizable head and rather long bill, longer than Blue-winged Teal’s but shorter than Northern Shoveler’s.
Relative Size
Larger than a Green-winged Teal, smaller than a Northern Shoveler.
crow-sizedMeasurements
- Male
- Length: 15.1-16.9 in (38.4-42.8 cm)
- Weight: 11.8-14.1 oz (335-401 g)
- Wingspan: 21.3-22.4 in (54-57 cm)
- Female
- Length: 14.2-16.6 in (36-42.3 cm)
© Matthew Pendleton / Macaulay Library
- Color Pattern
Breeding male has red eye, long dark bill, and mostly vivid rusty plumage, with brownish back, white underwing. Female, immature, and nonbreeding male are mostly rich brownish overall. All adults have sky-blue patch in open wing, similar to other teal and shovelers.
© Matt Davis / Macaulay Library - Behavior
Flocks of Cinnamon Teal dabble for food at the water’s surface in marshes, sometimes feeding like shoveler flocks, moving in the same direction as they feed.
- Habitat
Cinnamon Teal breed and molt in freshwater wetlands with emergent vegetation in western North America. Similar freshwater wetlands, estuaries, mangrove swamps, and reservoirs are used in winter.
© Ken Hare / Macaulay Library
Regional Differences
Only one subspecies (septentrionalium) occurs in North America. Another four subspecies occur in South America: tropica and borreroi are endemic to Colombia, while orinomus and cyanoptera are found from Peru southward. These subspecies differ in the intensity of rusty color in males, the extent of spotting in their plumage, and also in the degree of size difference between male and female.
