| Blue-winged Teal Identification Tips |
| (Credit: U. S. Geological Survey) |
| General
Information - Small dabbling duck - Medium-sized bill without spatulate tip - Pale blue upper secondary coverts - Green speculum with white leading edge - Dark bill - Juvenile similar to adult female Adult male alternate - Alternate plumage worn from early winter through early summer - Blue-gray head with darker cap - White crescent on face in front of eye - Buff breast and flanks with darker spotting - White band at rear portion of flanks - Black undertail coverts Adult male basic - Similar to adult female, but forewing brighter Adult female - Pale head - Dark crown and eye line - Pale eye ring, and loral spot - Mottled gray-brown body plumage with darker back Similar species Adult in alternate plumage is unmistakable. Female, immature and eclipse male similar to Green-winged and Cinnamon Teals. Note the small size and small bill of the Green-winged Teals as well as the green speculum. Cinnamon Teal is very difficult to distinguish in some (female) plumages, but note the smaller bill without a spatulate tip and the more distinct facial pattern (pale loral spot and more distinct eye line) of the Blue-winged Teal. |
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