Cinnamon Teal Identification

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-sized

  Measurements

  • 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.

• 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.