See 'Reservoir Ducks 1 - Mallard' for details of this series.
GREEN-WINGED TEAL
The Green-winged Teal is the smallest North American dabbling duck. The breeding male has grey flanks and back, with a yellow rear end and a white-edged green speculum, obvious in flight or at rest. It has a chestnut head with a green eye patch. It is distinguished from drake common teals (the Eurasian relative of this bird) by a vertical white stripe on side of breast, the lack of both a horizontal white scapular stripe and the lack of thin buff lines on its head. This is a noisy species. The male has a clear whistle, whereas the female has a feeble quack.
