Breeding
The majority of cinnamon teal breed in the western United States near the Great Salt Lake, Malheur Basin, San Luis Valley and Cariboo-Chilcotin parklands. They prefer small, shallow alkaline wetlands surrounded by low herbaceous cover. Nests are often located in grassy areas and island nesting is common. Female cinnamon teal lay an average of 8-10 eggs.
Latin: Spatula cyanoptera
Average length: M 16", F 15"
Average weight: M 0.7 lbs., F 0.8 lbs.
Description
Male cinnamon teal have a cinnamon-red head, neck, breast and belly. They have an iridescent green speculum, which is separated from a bluish shoulder patch by a white stripe. The back, rump, uppertail coverts and tail are a dull brown and the undertail coverts are black. They have a distinctive red eye, a black bill and yellow legs and feet. Female cinnamon teal are often confused with female blue-winged teal. They have a duller blue shoulder patch, an overall rustier color and are more heavily streaked.
Food Habits
Cinnamon teal dabble on aquatic plants in shallow water areas, especially rush seeds, pondweed seeds and leaves and salt grass seeds. They also feed on a wide variety of aquatic invertebrates.
Population
In North America, cinnamon teal are among the least abundant dabbling ducks with estimated breeding populations ranging from 260,000-300,000 (Bellrose 1980, Collins and Trost 2010) and fall popultion estimates between 500,000-600,000 ducks (Bellrose 1980).
Migration and Wintering
Nearly all cinnamon teal winter in Mexico and Central America. During migration the Great Salt Lake marshes and the Central Valley of California are important staging areas. Cinnamon teal are commonly sighted in the Midwest and eastern United States, and are often associated with a flock of blue-winged teal, most likely attaching themselves to the flock on their mutual breeding grounds. Cinnamon teal are common winter visitors to Central America; resident (two endemic subspecies) and occasional winter visitors in Colombia and Venezuela. They are common and widespread in the Andes from central Peru southwards, and in southern Chile and most of Argentina (Scott and Carbonell, 1986).
