The teal whistle builds its nests in. The smallest teal duck, its types and features. Where can you find a teal duck

About 40 wild species live on the territory of the Russian Federation. Most of them are the object of hunting. The teal duck belongs to the river varieties and is one of the common trophies among commercial or sport hunters. The material contains a description of the subspecies of this bird, with photos and characteristics.

Description and varieties

There are many river ducks. Species differ in body size, plumage color, habits. The teal duck is the smallest in this category. The bird is in demand because it is found everywhere.

Various subspecies can be found both in the south and in Far East. The exception is the cold northern regions. Ducks got their name because of the sound made during communication - “chirk-chirk”. Characteristics:

• body length - about 35 cm in females, about 40 cm in drakes;
• body weight - 300-600 g;
• the drake is larger than the duck, has a brighter color.

Attention! The color of the bird is brighter only in mating season. The rest of the time, the drake looks like its pale gray female. Only the color of the feather mirror on the wing remains unchanged.

Types of teals:

Subspecies Features

• the whistle whistles loudly;
• cracker crackles;
• kloktun makes dull bubbling sounds;
• marble ducks quietly "strike".

Duck nesting continues for several weeks in February-March. Some species of birds demonstrate interesting mating games. Moreover, drakes sometimes achieve representatives of other wild duck species.

Codfish are very active during breeding, their mating ceremony is noisy: the birds make crackling loud sounds. More than one applicant takes care of one duck at once. Drakes of this subspecies are lured by decoy females and stuffed ducks. Whistlers have a lingering marriage ritual. It consists of complex steps in the air and on the ground. After mating, the drake slowly circles over the female and becomes an easy target.

All types of birds build nests in grassy, ​​reed thickets or shrubs near water bodies. Marbled teal sometimes settles on a tree. The offspring quickly adapts and rises to the wing by the start of the hunting season. The exception is kloktun ducklings, which develop slowly.

Attention! It is almost impossible to find marbled ducks on the territory of the Russian Federation today. The population has declined due to a decrease in the number of their homes - small natural reservoirs. Ducks now live in India and Spain.

Other characteristics of the duck variety

Teal are able to fly quickly, easily maneuver in the sky. At the sight of water and in times of danger, they instantly fall down like a stone and dive deep. Waterfowl can also take off vertically. The secret of such skill is in the special shape of the wings.

Attention! Whistlers are fast flyers. Because of this, they have become a sought-after game for sport hunting. Narrow-nosed teals are the best depth gauge divers.

Eats river view plant and animal food (molluscs, insects). By the end of summer, the bird is gaining fat. By mid-autumn, it strays into large flocks and flies to warmer climes. Representatives of this species leave their homes later than other duck brethren, and often return later than others.

The meat of teal ducks, according to hunters, is tastier than that of the mallard variety. The vast range of life and the high number of whistlers and crackers made the birds a sought-after game for various types of hunting. It is most likely to find this duck near calm overgrown ponds and lakes with stagnant water.

Teal: video

The teal or whistle duck is the smallest waterfowl that is widely known in our country. You can meet her almost anywhere in Russia. What are its features and what are the distinguishing features, let's find out together.

The teal duck weighs no more than 500 grams, but this is not the only difference from other wild waterfowl ducks. Unlike all known in our country, it has narrow wings with pointed ends, thanks to which it can take off almost vertically. This skill also allows the bird to land even on the most inaccessible ponds densely overgrown with grass. The teal whistle is unpretentious to habitat conditions, therefore it settles almost throughout the country, except for the extreme cold zones of the North. However, as practice shows, most of all he loves small forest lakes or swamps with quiet stagnant water. In such waters there is always a lot of food for a small bird.

External characteristic

The teal is a small river duck that has narrow wings, a small body and a short neck.. Thanks to them, the bird not only lands well in overgrown water bodies, but also flies almost silently. True, the plumage of birds is not very bright. Males mating in spring are gray with a dark chestnut head and a green stripe, a yellow back and a gray stripe along the wing. The chest of males is pinkish with dark small spots. The belly of the bird is white, the sides and shoulder blades are ashy. Very beautiful coloring of the wings, as seen in the photo.

In summer and during the molting period, males acquire a more gray body color without obvious variegated blotches. This makes him look like a female. the only distinguishing feature- this is a bright still motley mirror on the wings and a black beak. The female has the same plumage color throughout the year. Dark brown color with light edges prevails. By the way, the female teal is very similar to the female mallard, only smaller in size, which can be clearly seen in the photo.

reproduction

Teal unlike most waterfowl wild ducks reaches its sexual maturity already in the first year of life, although they do not always immediately begin to reproduce. They enter the period of courtship and mating games early, usually with the first freeze-up: in May in the north, in early March in the south of the country. Some birds form pairs at wintering grounds or in migration, others after arrival at nesting sites. Teal ducks also have another feature - females often winter separately from males. Most ducks go to winter in the southern latitudes, while drakes often remain in the northern ones.

The mating games of teals are very similar to mallards. Even in the fall, after molting, the males begin to show off near the females and choose a pair. During the dances, the drakes lower their heads into the water, and then sharply raise them, emitting a loud characteristic whistle. It is thanks to this that the birds were called whistlers - teal whistler. Having chosen a mate for themselves, the birds remain faithful right up to the period until the female begins the period of incubation of eggs.

Chirks settle, as a rule, in small groups, arranging nests on the ground near or not far from water. For the nest, the female digs a hole and lays its bottom with dry grass, leaves or branches. coniferous trees. Also around the perimeter, the duck closes the nest with its feathers.

The female teal lays an average of 8-10 eggs and incubates them for about 23 days. From the first days of life, ducklings are perfectly adapted to life, they can run fast, even jump, dive and get food on their own. By the 30th day of life, they are already on the wing.

Distribution and habitat

The teal duck settles throughout Russia, in the northern part of Eurasia, while in the far north it reaches the Arctic coast zone. Western populations are found in Iceland, and southern populations are found in the Aleutian Islands, Commander Islands, Sakhalin and Hokkaido. Also widespread in northern Mongolia and Primorye. Ducks winter in the Southern and Western zones Europe, in the western part of Asia Minor and in the Mediterranean.

Most often, the teal chooses forest-tundra and forest-steppe for habitat, but in the continuous steppe you can hardly meet it. During the breeding season, it settles near ponds with stagnant water. It is here in shallow water that they find their food. In winter and autumn, the bird usually feeds plant food, but in spring and summer - animal feed. As the latter, molluscs, insects and worms are chosen. Today this bird is hunted industrially.

Video "Birds of the continents - teal-whistle"

In this video presentation, you can see in detail what birds of this species look like.

The miniature teal crackling duck is another interesting representative duck families. Next, we learn about its features, appearance and lifestyle.

Let's make a reservation right away, the crackling should not be confused with the whistle. These are two different ducks with significant external differences. Only their name may seem consonant to someone.

What does a drake look like?

Unlike the teal-whistle duck, the teal-cattle duck is more big bird. However, this is in comparison, because this duck also does not differ in large size. The male barely reaches a weight of 600 g, but the female - up to 400 g.

But this is not the whole difference between them. The primary flight feathers of the crackling are distinguished by white rods. The plumage as a whole is not very bright. The wings of the drake are light bluish in color, somewhat elongated and hang down to the side. The beak is black, 38-42 mm long, the eyes are brown, and the legs are gray.

During the mating period, a white stripe is drawn in males, it passes through the eye and up to the back of the head. Mirrors on the wings are green with a metallic sheen, and white feathers grow around the wing. The head becomes brown with rare white strokes. Cheeks acquire a chocolate color with a wine tint, the part under the beak is completely black. The rest of the plumage is gray-brown, only the neck and breast with yellowness and chest with sides are whitish-blue.

What does a female look like?

Females also have brown shades of feathers, but darker. Down her feathers turn pale. On the sides, her head is slightly lighter, and a darker stripe is noticeable through the eyes. The sides of the body are reddish, and the wings are brown. The mirror on them is pale, sometimes it is not even visible. The front of her neck is white, and on her chest White color diluted with small specks. There are feathers along the uppertail, darkened in the center.

IN summer time grown chicks and adults of both sexes are similar in appearance. The male is distinguished only by feathers on the wings, they are blue with bluish.

Nutrition

Teal prefer to eat:

• food of plant origin;
• invertebrate worms;
• insects;
• shellfish.

They find them on land or in shallow water and along the coast. In order to catch food from the water, the crackling lowers its head down and strains all vegetation and living creatures through its beak. A duck does not dive under water.

near large lakes and sea ​​shores birds do not hunt, but may come to rest.

Where does the teal cracker live

The bird is found almost throughout Eurasia, in the eastern and even in the northern territory of Russia. She is in Kamchatka, on the Commander Islands, in the Primorsky Territory, in Transbaikalia, she was photographed even in Yakutsk. Also, these birds can be found in the west of Europe and as far as Iceland.

But it was not always so. A couple of hundred years ago, these ducks preferred only temperate zone Eurasia.

The open area near the shores of lakes, ponds, rivers and swamps overgrown with tall grass serves as a haven for cracklings. That's where they are less common, so it's near the seas.

Wintering

Compared to other migratory ducks, the teal makes much longer flights. For the winter, teal-codfish migrate to Africa, southeast Asia or fly to the south of the Sahara. Less often they fly off to the Mediterranean Sea to Italy or France. Some individuals remain near the Caspian Sea (southern coast) and on the Sivash, as well as in Greece and Turkey.

Reproduction of teal-crackle

mating season

Flirting and dividing in pairs in codfish, like most ducks, occurs even during wintering, so they return to nesting places no longer alone. In order to attract a duck, the male throws his head back or stretches his neck and moves it up and down.

Nesting

Birds place their nests on the ground near water, in a meadow, or occupy abandoned nests in trees (this happens less often). The arrangement of a perch for a teal is an important matter. Usually this is a deep hole, the bottom of which is lined with dry plants and fluff, and the edges are additionally protected by a roller of plants.

hatching chicks

By the end of May or by the beginning of June (depending on the climate of the area of ​​residence), 8-9 eggs have already been laid in the clutch. They are olive with a hint of brown or fawn. In total, incubation of eggs in a bird takes up to 24 days.

Little ducklings quickly leave the nest, although they begin to fly only on the 40th day of life.

Facts about the common teal

Behavior

Among all the ducks, the crackling teal is one of the most careless. They are agile and nimble on the water surface, but not at all cautious in life. Even in the event of a real danger (chase) or when injured, these ducks do not quite successfully show the art of disguise.

The flight of the crackling is very fast and quiet. At the start, it easily rises vertically upwards.

These ducks fly, straying into large flocks, in which you can count about 100 individuals. With this composition, they survive the winter, separating themselves from birds of other species, although after a summer molt it is often possible to meet them walking alone.

Drakes do not fly far from the nests where the duck hatches their common offspring, despite the fact that the female is able to stand up for herself and for her future brood.

They fly off for winter early, from about mid-August the first migrations are already noticeable.

Security

In view of the deterioration of conditions in some places of wintering of the common teal, as well as due to various changes in environment their numbers are greatly reduced. In addition, their nests are often ruined by accident during field work, so it is no longer possible to take a photo of a crackling in some areas of Europe.

In order to protect the species of these ducks, they are bred in zoological gardens. Such a measure can be successful, since codfish breed well outside their usual habitat.

In nature, there are a huge number of wild waterfowl. Many of them are famous for their beautiful appearance, others with unique properties, and still others with an unusual voice and plumage. Among them is the famous breed of teal ducks, which can make peculiar sounds reminiscent of “teal, teal”. Few people know that the teal bird has the smallest size compared to other wild waterfowl. Perhaps that is why she was named so affectionately, gently and beautifully.

Before today the behavior of whistle-teals remains poorly understood, which is not surprising. It can be problematic to meet a bird in real conditions, because. she is a tiny, very cautious and inconspicuous creature.

Despite the tiny size The teal is considered a sweetheart hunting trophy. This is not strange, because the meat of nimble crumbs stands out for its incredible culinary properties, due to which it is classified as “noble”. But the prosperity of poaching leads to the rapid extermination of the species, so in some regions the number of ducks reaches a critical point.

For example, in the countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Great Britain, the bird is caught in industrial scale when it makes seasonal migrations.

One of key features The teal duck is a kind of take-off, which it performs in a vertical manner. While landing occurs on reservoirs abundantly overgrown with vegetation. Agree, not all birds can boast of such unique abilities. What is the secret of such mastery of flight? It's very simple, the teal duck has unique anatomical features wings, which have pointed ends and a narrow shape.

IN wild nature There are several types of birds, but two types are considered the most popular:

1. teal whistle;
2. teal crackling

The first breed is considered the most common, because. she meets in different regions And climatic zones. An adult rarely gains more than 200-450 grams of weight, due to which it can perform complex maneuvers in the air.

Incredibly beautiful color plumage gives the bird a special appeal. The drake's head and neck are covered with a reddish-brown nuptial dress, and the chin and lower neck are black plumage. On both sides of the head are bluish-green stripes with a reddish tint. In turn, they are distinguished by a narrow white border.

The upper part of the body is painted in light gray with black stripes. The rump is a brownish-gray color with a unique velvety border. The paws are grey, with an olive tint, and the beak is black.

A duck is distinguished from a drake by the presence brownish-brown in plumage color.

In summer and spring, the color becomes monotonous and acquires brownish-gray hues. Because of this, it is easy to confuse it with a duck, and the only obvious difference is the mirror, which does not change color, and the black beak. The color of the females does not change.

The population of the common teal is not as large as the whistle. Outwardly, they are noticeably different from each other, because. the former have a long white stripe over the eye. The beak of the codfish is much longer and is colored dark gray.

Codfish are heavier than their relatives, while the sounds that females make are characteristic of both varieties. The drake is famous for its characteristic cry, reminiscent of the sounds of “crer-crerrer”.

Where does the teal whistle live

This waterfowl can be found in almost all regions Russian Federation and countries of the former Soviet Union, excluding the cold regions of Siberia). ducks prefer forest-steppe zone and forest tundra. For housing, they are looking for hard-to-reach lakes, which are densely overgrown with reeds and other vegetation.

A real treasure for a teal whistler is a small body of water where there is no current. Most often it is a small lake with stagnant water, or a sedge swamp. The thing is that such an area abounds with a wide variety of foods, including shellfish, small insects, and emersed plants. Duck nests are located near the water, but sometimes the distance from the reservoir reaches 500 meters. This is due to the fact that in spring period the water level is much higher than in summer, so if the lake dries up, the nest is on dry land.

Reproduction features

The teal whistle is considered sexually mature in the first year of life. The nesting period begins in spring, and drakes take care not only of ducks of their own species, but also of representatives of other breeds, including mallards.

During nesting, the male arranges mating games with a duck, circling near it with its head pressed to the body and its beak lowered into the water. . To conquer the female drakes can make peculiar screams-whistles, during which they sharply throw their heads up to raise a fountain of bright spray. Some drakes try to show the female their luxurious plumage and a mirror with a metallic sheen. To do this, they spread their wings and create a rattling sound by running a beak fingernail along the bottom of the fly feather. Females are silent creatures, but sometimes they make very loud cries.

Teal-whistles are good at hiding their nests, and they do it not only among sedge thickets. If the reservoir is in the forest, then most likely, the bird will use dense thickets as a refuge. Also, the nest can be located in thickets of pine or spruce, under brushwood. The construction of the dwelling is carried out taking into account many subtleties, so the bird takes the procedure very seriously. At the first stage, she digs a small hole, which she securely covers with twigs and plants as a heater. In addition, feathers are placed in the nest.

As for the eggs, then they are tiny in size and matte greenish in color. In cracklings, the eggs are slightly elongated, while in whistlers, they are flattened.

Very often, a duck lays about 12 eggs in one nest. caring mothers 15 can lead, so many people have the question: "how does such a tiny bird hatch so many testicles." It takes 21 to 24 days to incubate offspring.

chicks

Newborn chicks are born very active and lively. Just a few hours after hatching, they begin to jump into the water, start swimming, diving and running through the water. At the age of one month, the chicks make their first independent flights. Despite this behavior, female mothers remain very caring. If the child is threatened some danger in the form of a predator, then she is ready to sacrifice her life to save him. In a fit of passion, she flaps her wings on the water and tries to drive the predator away from the babies.

The duration of teal ducks reaches 21 years, due to which they are considered real centenarians. IN winter time males and females live separately. Drakes prefer northern regions, while ducks move south. The presence of narrow wings allows you to make masterful takeoffs and climb to a decent height in a few seconds. It is for this reason that many hunters consider the duck to be the most desired trophy.

It is very difficult to catch prey, because her behavior is always frisky and active.

It is important to note that in addition to the high quality of meat, duck eggs are incredibly tasty. Many are sure that teal eggs are much better than eggs other wild birds.

Surprising Facts About Teal Whistlers

Teal are ducks that belong to the river group. They prefer bodies of water fresh water. Their habitat is represented by regions with temperate climate. Individuals living in Africa, North and South America are settled. Birds do not fly away from their nests South-East Asia and India. Migratory are the teals living in European countries, in Central and East Asia. What is a duck? What does it eat? How does it reproduce?

The duck differs from other representatives of waterfowl in its small size. A teal is smaller than a dove. Its body length is up to 30 cm, weight is 350 g. Females are smaller than males. The bird is commercial. Hunters celebrate good taste qualities in teal meat. Feathers from small ducks are few, but they are valued for their excellent thermal insulation properties:

• the main color of the teals is brown or gray, but nature painted the drakes in bright colors. Males are visible from afar. The feathers on their heads are bright red. The eyes are framed in emerald circles, which are limited by a white narrow stripe. On the chest, among the gray or brown plumage, pinkish shades stand out. The plumage on the tail is black, at the base of the tail the feathers are bright yellow. The mirror is formed by dark green flight feathers;
• after the end of the mating season, the drakes molt. Until autumn, they remain gray-mottled or brown. In autumn they experience a second molt. The plumage again begins to play with its original colors;
• individuals always keep in pairs, but before flying to another body of water or to fields, before migrating, they gather in flocks;
• the bird leads night image life. The little duck is defenseless birds of prey, animals and humans. In search of food, flocks can fly from their native reservoir to meadows with lush vegetation or to fields with cereal crops. They fly late in the evening or at night. Before the morning dawn they return to their native backwater;
• the teal duck feeds on algae, small fish, insect larvae. Birds dive for prey, plunging half into the water;
• flocks often come ashore, graze in the meadows. They prefer dense vegetation. In the tall grass, a small duck becomes invisible.

Birds have many enemies in the pond. They are attacked by nutrias, big fish. Chirok tries to escape from them. Nature endowed the birds special structure wing. Ducks take off from a place, without a run on the water, without additional wing beats. The takeoff is sharp and fast.

Ornithologists count 20 species of teals. They differ in plumage and habitat. On the territory of Russia there are only 2 types of ducks: teal-whistle and crackling:

• the whistle is distinguished by its bright breeding plumage. It is especially noticeable on the head. The voice of the drake is characterized by high notes, similar to a thin whistle. With a whistle, the male calls the female, warns other individuals of the danger. Females do not whistle. They make nasal sounds;
• cracker makes a loud rolling crack. The plumage of the drake is more modest than that of the whistle. The cover is uniformly brown. The mirror is formed by white feathers. During the mating season, the plumage almost does not change, only a wide, white stripe passes over the eye;
• green-winged teal lives in North America. Its main plumage is grey. But on the back and wings, green shades are distinguished. The color of the head is bright. Red and green colors predominate;
• yellow-billed - found in South America. Individuals have a bright yellow beak. The plumage is brown. Drakes are not much different from females;
• blue-winged - lives in the northern regions of Canada, is found in Alaska. Males are distinguished by dark blue plumage of the head, back and wings. The beak and metatarsus are dark. The females have gray plumage. Individuals are considered large among the teals. Their body length is 40 cm, weight 450 g;
• Auckland teal duck is common in the Auckland archipelago. He is in pacific ocean, south of New Zealand. Outwardly, the bird looks like a small mallard duck. The drake has the same breeding plumage: a brown contour cover, a dark green tint on the head, blue or green flight feathers.

The Sunda teal lives in Indonesia, and the Madagascar teal lives on the island of Madagascar. In Africa, the main population of ducks of this group is the Cape variety: individuals are large, body length up to 50 cm, weight more than 700 g. The Campbell teal is unique. It cannot fly, it lives on land. Hiding in the dense vegetation of the steppes, in the hollows of trees, in burrows. He lives in New Zealand.

Teal arrive in Europe at the end of February. IN Central Asia birds return at the beginning of April. The mating season begins in birds. Young individuals are looking for a pair. Males swim in circles around females, showing them their plumage. Drakes compete in the ability to fly. They rapidly rise from the surface of the water and fall like a stone near the female they like.

The female observes the males and chooses among them a life partner. She swims up to the drake, gives a voice, stretches her neck in his direction. After mating, the ducks begin to build nests together. For the nest, they choose a secluded place on the shore. It can be a dense bush, thickets of reeds. Individuals dig a small depression in the ground, put soft grass and feathers in it, which they pluck from their chest.

Nest of the teal whistler

The female lays 9-12 eggs. She is also incubating. Incubation period lasts 24-26 days. A small duck tries to be invisible among dense vegetation. She rarely leaves the nest. Before moving away from him for a while, she covers the masonry with grass and feathers. Ducks do not fly away during the hatching period. They have a molt. They use the fallen feathers to insulate the nest.

While the mother hen is busy, the drakes gather in flocks. They also molt, they acquire everyday, modest plumage. Males stay away from nests, in coastal vegetation. At night they come out of their hiding places big water to find food.

Hatching of chicks begins on the 22nd day. On day 26, all ducklings shed their shells. The female immediately removes her from the nest, cleans her dwelling from wet, dirty grass. The plumage of the chicks is olive in color, with dark stains on the back. Ducklings immediately know how to swim. The teal duck teaches them to dive and forage for themselves.