Cinnamon Teal
Spatula cyanoptera · Ducks, Geese, and Swans
Banding codeCITE
Keys to identifying it
1Size & shape
About 16 in long.
2Color pattern
- Male: deep cinnamon-red body and red eye
- Female: mottled brown
- Pale blue forewing patch in flight; long bill
3Habitat & season
Shallow marshes and ponds
In northern Utah: summer.
Seen most often in March, April and May.
Share of the region’s research-grade iNaturalist bird observations each month, scaled to this bird’s peak. Highlighted bars are its peak months.
4Voice
Male gives a soft chatter; the female quacks.
“a quiet rattling chatter”
Warbly has no recording of this bird.
Know it
- The male's cinnamon body and red eye make it unmistakable.
- Unusual among ducks, it has separate breeding populations in North and South America.
- The Great Salt Lake's marshes are considered its most important breeding ground in North America.
Often confused with
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Northern Shoveler- Blue-winged Teal
- Redhead
From iNaturalist identification data for northern Utah.
From Wikipedia
The cinnamon teal is a species of duck found in western North and South America. It is a small dabbling duck, with bright reddish plumage on the male and duller brown plumage on the female. It lives in marshes and ponds, and feeds mostly on plants.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0