The Common Teal is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurasia and migrates south in winter. The Common Teal is often called simply the Teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range. The bird gives its name to the blue-green color teal.
It is a highly gregarious duck outside the breeding season and can form large flocks. It is commonly found in sheltered wetlands and feeds on seeds and aquatic invertebrates. The North American Green-winged Teal was formerly considered a subspecies of Common Teal.
The Common Teal is the smallest extant dabbling duck at 45 cm length and with an average weight of 400 gm.
The males in nuptial plumage appear grey, with a dark head, a yellowish behind, and a white stripe running along the flanks. Their head and upper neck is chestnut, with a wide and iridescent dark green patch of half-moon- or teardrop-shape that starts immediately before the eye and arcs to the upper hind neck. The patch is bordered with thin yellowish-white lines, and a single line of that color extends from the patch's forward end, curving along the base of the bill.
