Wild duck Teal-whistle: habitat, nutrition, reproduction. Teal whistle bird. The lifestyle and habitat of the teal whistler What does a teal look like

About 40 wild species live on the territory of the Russian Federation. Most of them are hunted. The teal duck is a river species and is one of the most 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 a lot of dabbling ducks. Species differ in body size, plumage color, and 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 in both the south and Far East. The exception is the cold northern regions. Ducks got their name because of the sound they make when communicating - “chir-chir”. Specifications:

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

Attention! The color of the bird is brighter only during the 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 teal:

Features of subspecies

the whistle whistles loudly;
the rattle crackles;
the kloktun makes dull bubbling sounds;
Marbled ducks “chirp” quietly.

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

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

All types of birds make nests in grass, reed thickets or bushes near water bodies. Marbled teal sometimes settles in trees. The offspring quickly adapt and take wing by the start of the hunting season. The exception is kloktuna ducklings, which develop slowly.

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

Other characteristics of the duck variety

Teal are able to fly quickly and 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 teals 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 divers.

The river species feeds on plant and animal food (molluscs, insects). By the end of summer, the bird gains fat. By mid-autumn, it gathers in large flocks and flies to warm regions. Representatives of this species leave their native places 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 extensive habitat and high number of whistlers and gars have 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 standing water.

Teal: video

In Russia, the most common are ducks, which, thanks to their endurance and unpretentiousness to food, are able to live throughout the country, excluding cold regions. The most common species are Teal Kloktun and Teal Svistunok.

Features of breeds

There are about 20 species of Teal birds that live in forest-steppe, tundra, and forest-tundra zones.

They are distinguished by their small size and brightly colored feathers during the mating season. The most common are Whistlers and Teal Kloktuns. Their numbers make it possible to hunt birds in the autumn. The names of the species are given in accordance with the voice - a high, thin sound in the Whistlers and a loud bubbling sound in the Kloktuns.

External description

Ducks of these species are small in size. Female Whistlers weigh from 200 to 400 g, males are slightly larger - 240-450 g. For Kloktunov ducks, the usual weight is 250-450 g, for drakes - 300-500 g.

The body structure is compact, the neck is short and thick, length is from 30 to 35 cm. Small pointed wings have a span of 50-68 cm, allowing them to take off and land vertically and silently. The beak is dark, grayish-black or brown, with oval nostrils. The legs are smooth, with webs between the toes, yellowish or gray.

Plumage of representatives of these breeds most of time is the same for males and females. Gray-brown and brown-brown shades predominate with rare splashes of light brown and black on the chest and near the beak. The inside of the wing is white, but drakes always retain emerald tints on the outside.

Only during the mating season, males of both species change their feathers to brighter ones:

The whistler becomes ash-gray with a pink breast dotted with black spots. The head becomes a chocolate-red color with teardrop-shaped green plumage around the eyes. It starts near the beak and ends at the back of the head, surrounded by a thin white stripe, looks elegant and bright. Inserts of white, yellow and greenish-violet colors appear on the wings.
Description of Kloktun has a wide range of colors. The head is decorated with crescent-shaped segments of green, orange, brown, separated by black and white curved vertical stripes. The breast is pinkish with dark specks, the belly is lighter. The sides and wings are blue, the tail is brown with black and purple. Curved black and white long feathers appear on the shoulder blades, falling in the form of a fringe.

Productivity

Small size does not stop hunters and gourmets. Bird meat is considered the most delicious and enjoyable, as are eggs. The yield of meat product from one carcass is 70% of live weight.

Bird eggs are valued as a delicacy, although their weight barely exceeds 12 g. The color range is represented by yellow, cream, and olive-green shades. To obtain this product, Svistunok and Kloktun are domesticated, kept in captivity, where they successfully reproduce. Hunting birds and their clutches is not permitted in all countries of the European continent, but is not limited in Russia.

Habitats

The Teal bird prefers wetlands, river beds, and reservoirs with lush vegetation. The proximity of trees, bushes and other plantings is comfortable for birds. Tall grass can hide Whistlers and Kloktuns from predators and people.

Often, during feeding or seasonal migrations, birds are poisoned, shot, or caught in nets. But quick reaction and caution save large number Teal from extinction.

In the warm season, ducks settle in small flocks near the water. In October - November the situation changes:

migration of females begins to warmer regions in Southern Europe, Asia, North Africa;
males prefer to stay in their favorite places and gather in groups.

Features of the food supply

The diet of birds depends on where they live. The proximity of water, tall trees, and grass make it possible to diversify the food supply. Teals feed by swimming in the water. They often forage on the ground or fish in the water by passing liquid and mud through their beaks.

Variety of food includes:

cereals in the amount of 50% of the total diet - seeds of sedge, rice, wild wheat, and other plants;
aquatic and terrestrial vegetation up to 24% – duckweed, roots, young leaves and stems;
animal food – 26%, consists of crustaceans, mollusks, small fish, worms, insects and their larvae.

Reproduction

Teal ducks are long-lived, wild conditions Some individuals are capable of reaching 20 years of age. Pairs form once for life or until the death of one of the partner birds. Birds breed after frosts, in warm regions - in March, in northern regions - in May.

Mating season

Upon reaching the age of one year, Teal Whistler and Kloktuna are able to reproduce. But they enter into mating games a little later. Males begin to look closely at ducks in the fall, in September. But the main struggle for the attention of females occurs in the spring. Many drakes become overly loving, so they flirt with ducks of other breeds, for example, Mallards.

Beautiful plumage is designed to attract females. Male Teals and Kloktuns swim up to the chosen lady, spread their wings in the form of a fan, throw back their heads, emitting a loud specific sound. Sometimes they make circles around the duck in the water, spraying it with splashes, or circle in the air above the pond. The female, as a sign of consent to mate with a specific male, gives a voice that sounds much quieter.

Nest and chicks

To breed offspring, the female Teal Whistler independently organizes a nest. She chooses a cozy place, hidden from prying eyes. Coniferous undergrowth, bushes, thick grass, sedge thickets, and hummocks are suitable for nesting. For safety, the duck does not move further than 150 m from the edge of the pond and prefers to be in the vicinity of other females.

Organizing a nest includes several stages:

digging a hole no more than 20 cm deep;
covering the bottom and walls with small twigs, dry grass and feathers;
covering the nest with a downy layer.

The clutch of Kloktunka and Chirka Svistunka consists of 8-15 eggs. The incubation period is 21-24 days. Hatching of chicks is 100%. From the first hours of life, ducklings are active, able to run and swim after their mother. They feed independently and have the ability to dive, which they lose with age. At the first signal of danger, which is given by an adult voice, they hide in reliable shelters.

The coloring of the chicks is standard. The upper part of the body is covered with greenish-brown down, the belly, neck and part of the head are yellow. Broods remain with their mother until 2 months of age, although they begin to fly after one month of age.

Duck. Teal. "Execution" from three meters. Little ducks.

Conclusion

The Whistling and Kloktun duck breeds are known for their shrill voices and sounds during the mating season, the beautiful plumage of drakes, and the taste of meat. Their uncontrolled killing during hunting can lead to rapid decline. Security wildlife maintains numbers and studies the life activity of these birds in natural conditions.

Even a small wild duck, such as the Teal, can be of great interest to hunters. In addition to valuable down, duck is distinguished by very tasty and delicious meat, which is much superior in similar characteristics to mallard meat.

Description

Teal-whistle ducks are very modest in size. The birds do not exceed 38 cm in length. The male gains weight on average 0.25–0.45 kg. The female is not much smaller than the drake and weighs between 0.2–0.4 kg. The wingspan of an adult duck reaches 68 cm.

Teal drakes in breeding plumage are quite elegant, although this is noticeable only upon closer inspection. From a distance, males appear gray with minor nuances in the form of a dark head and light yellow markings on the wings and back.

In fact, male Teal's heads are a rich shade of chestnut. The eyes are framed by a teardrop-shaped marking, glossy in the sunlight, of a bright green color with a yellowish-white border that connects it to the completely black beak.

The chest of male Teal-whistles has a non-standard pinkish tint of feathers. Black drop-shaped spots are scattered against this background. The abdomen is whitish. The back, mantle, shoulder blades and flank of the ducks are ashen, smoky gray with a streaky pattern.

On the wings of the drakes there is a black, velvety mirror, framed in front by a brown border and at the back by a white border. On the back of the wing, the mirror of male Teal Whistlers is green, with a strong gloss, shimmering with a violet-green sheen. Even after molting, it retains its color.

The wings of ducks at rest on the body are distinguished by a light stripe: the outer feathers on the shoulders are white with a black horseshoe-shaped border. The black undertail of the Teal has two bright yellow spots on its sides.

Females, regardless of the season, like all ducks, are more modestly plumed. The duck's body is covered with dark, brown feathers with a light brown edging, which change to a darker shade on the back.

The dark brown head with a grayish tint of the female Teal-whistle is distinguished by narrow longitudinal streaks. The lower part (neck, cheeks and area under the beak) of the duck is whitish. On the wings there is a narrow, green, white-edged mirror.

Young teal and drakes in normal plumage become similar to females. The only difference between males and females is the contrasting wide mirror and the grayish-brown general background, and in young ducks the coloring is even more faded.

Teal Whistlers have distinguishing feature. When compared with other ducks, the difference in the structure of the wings is visible. They are usually very pointed and narrow. Therefore, the population can stay crowded and take off without a run, almost vertically. The duck moves quickly without creating noise.

Teal drakes whistle high, loudly and clearly during mating games, which is how they got their name. The duck quacks, a little nasally and quietly. The female's sound becomes lower at the end.

Spreading

The teal has a Eurasian registration. A large population of ducks is dispersed almost everywhere in northern latitudes (from 40–45° to 69–71°), sometimes found even on the shores of the Arctic, from France and Great Britain in western Europe to the Japanese Islands and the Kuril Islands in the east.

There are nesting grounds of Teal-whistles in all European countries. There are many ducks in Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan, Russia and even China. It is common for most Teal to migrate from nesting grounds to wintering grounds. However, some ducks lead a sedentary lifestyle, not leaving the British Isles, France, the Netherlands, the Caucasus, the Black Sea coast, and the west of Asia Minor even during winter.

It is there that flocks of Teal Whistlers from more northern regions wait out the cold, temporarily joining their sedentary brothers. In particular, ducks migrate there from the Baltic states, Finland, Scandinavia and northwestern Russia.

Large flocks of teal winter in the Mediterranean, on the northwestern coast of the Black Continent up to Mauritania, as well as in the countries of Southeast Asia. They are even found on the west coast of the United States. Lots of ducks roost in Hindustan.

The usual habitat of Teal-whistles is a belt of forests. In particular, the habitat of ducks covers the forest-steppe in the south or the forest-tundra in the north. For nesting and wintering they choose shallow and even swampy bodies of water. Flocks of Teal-whistles prefer shady places, away from open spaces.

Reproduction

Puberty in Teal-whistles occurs at the age of one year. Ducks have developed monogamy. Pairs form partly in wintering areas. The rest - after arriving at the nesting sites, from March to May in different climatic zones.

The drake begins to breed in the fall. Ducks' mating games take place on the water. The male swims around the selected female. As a rule, he lowers his nose into the water and presses his head tightly to his chest. Periodically flaps its wings, raises spray and, throwing its neck upward, whistles with the characteristic sound by which Chirkov-whistles are distinguished. At the same time, the female quietly quacks and makes threatening movements with her beak, scaring off imaginary enemies over her shoulder.

After forming a pair, the ducks lay eggs in nests located near water and arranged in dense coastal vegetation. To do this, the female digs a hole into which she removes leaves and dry grass, and lays her own fluff on top.

Teals have 8–11 yellowish-white eggs. In rare cases, deviations are possible and then there will be 5–16 of them in the duck’s nest. The eggs are small, 30*41–38*49 mm. The female incubates them herself. Teal drakes fly off to molt at this time.

Ducklings appear around the 22nd day and already at the age of 25–30 days young ducks begin to fly.

Nutrition

Settled in shallow water, ducks have no shortage of food: they find food in the muddy bottom or in the shallows. The summer and spring menu of the Whistling Teal includes animal food: mollusks, insects, worms and crustaceans. With the arrival of autumn, plant foods predominate. The vegetative parts of aquatic plants, seeds and cereals are used.

Small but very tasty ducks are the subject of not only commercial but also sport hunting. Thanks to timidity and caution, as well as excellent adaptation, the Teal population is not in danger of extinction.

The length of the whistle does not exceed 38 centimeters. Typically the body length is 30 centimeters. The bird weighs no more than 450 grams. Females, as a rule, have a mass of about 250.

Description and features of the whistle

teal whistle named for its ability to whistle clearly and loudly. However, only drakes are distinguished by this ability. Females are nasal and have a muffled quack.

You can hear mini-ducks from spring to fall. For the winter, whistlers go to Africa. There, ducks are found close to spotted hyenas and birds.

Teal go on wanderings, taking an almost vertical start. Miniature ducks owe their ability to fly like this to their narrow and pointed wings. They also make it possible to land on any site. Other ducks do not have such abilities.

In the photo there is a teal whistler often appears next to the mallard. The species have similar habitats. Externally, teals differ not only in size, but also in the emerald “mirrors” on their wings. The rest of the plumage is dark brown with a light belly. It's summer.

In the spring, in preparation for breeding, males become colorful. The feathers on the head become a rich brown with iridescent green accents near the eyes. Emerald fragments are edged in white. Its stripes extend towards its beak. The body of drakes in spring is gray, with streaks.

Lifestyle and habitat

The voice of the teal whistler in Russia it was heard with the appearance of the first clearings. There are no special requirements for reservoirs. Teal also inhabit steppe, forest and rivers of the Tundra. The birds leave the latter for wintering earlier, in September. Mini-ducks fly away from the central part of the country at the end of October.

When choosing between a large and a small body of water, whistlers will prefer the latter. If there are options in the forest and in open areas, the latter will be discarded.

Teal prefer water bodies with rich surface vegetation during the molting period. Birds lose almost all of their guard feathers at once. This interferes with flights. Having become vulnerable, teals want to hide in reeds and coastal bushes.

In terms of altitude, duck colonies are not stable. In the northern regions, teals prefer lowland plains. In the south of the country, whistlers love to inhabit mountain plateaus. Here you need to look for miniature ducks in Transcaucasia, on the coasts of the Caspian Sea, on the border with Mongolia.

Whistlers sometimes settle in the mountains and in Kamchatka. There the ducks remain for the winter, moving to hot springs. Warmth remains nearby and grass grows.

Types of whistle

Ornithologists duck teal whistle classified as river, like the mallard. The hero of the article is one of the species of the genus of birds. It includes teals. There are 20 of them. Along with the prosperous whistler, there are species that are on the verge of extinction, for example, the marbled one.

The last time this teal was seen was in 1984. Perhaps the species became extinct like the duck. Remember the expression: “Walking like a nog”? So, in the 21st century, gogols walk around the planet only in a figurative sense. Birds with a sonorous name have become extinct.

The photo shows marble teal

There are also blue, gray, Madagascar, Auckland, brown, brown, Campbell and chestnut teal. There is an alternative name for each of them. This brings some confusion into the popular consciousness. By the way, the whistler also has additional names: small, sexual, codling.

Among the teals, the whistler is the most loved by hunters and even by mass bird catching enterprises. In Europe, for example, the hero of the article is mined in industrial scale. Of 100% of the meat harvested, 70% is suitable for sale. Only a few birds can boast of such indicators.

Whistling meat is dietary, easy to prepare, and has excellent taste and vitamin and mineral composition.

Individually, hunters place decoy for teal whistler. More precisely, they set up a decoy-duck. Decoys produce sounds characteristic of birds. Real birds fly to them. All that remains is to shoot them from an ambush.

Teal nutrition

Teal whistler - bird, obtaining food in acrobatic poses. The feathered creature stands on its head. A duck's legs dangle above the water. At this time, the head looks for food under water, capturing it with its beak. The whistle fishes out of the water crumbs of vegetation, bread, grain, and larvae thrown by people.

The diet also includes small crustaceans, worms, mollusks, and insects.

Among plant foods, teals prefer duckweed and cereal seeds. The last whistlers are sought out along the banks of reservoirs. Birds engage in this kind of “fishing” in cold weather. In the summer, while animal food is abundant, teals prefer it.

Reproduction and lifespan

A mini-duck reaches sexual maturity at one year of age. Teal whistler female and the male pair up upon arrival at the nesting sites, or even in . Ornithologists ironically say that during the winter duets are created out of love, but in Russia out of necessity. Otherwise, how can we explain that some pairs are formed in advance, long before the breeding season?

Mating games take place on the water. The drake circles near the female, lowering its beak into the water. The head is pressed against the chest. Afterwards, the drake throws its beak upward, spreading its wings. Sprays rise into the air. The dance algorithm is repeated.

The drake's movements are accompanied by the famous whistling. The duck, with its partner, sharply pecks invisible enemies behind its shoulders, now to the right, now to the left.

Teal whistler nest

After mating, 5-16 eggs are laid in prepared nests. The fertility of whistlers is one of the factors of their prevalence and abundance.

The nest is built by the female. Twigs, dry leaves and grass are used. They are lined with mother's down. Against its brownish background, the beige eggs seem to be camouflaged.

The mother incubates the offspring. The drake flies away to molt. Each 5-mm egg will hatch into a teal on the 22-30th day of development. The minimum period is typical for hot years, and the maximum for cold years.

Teal whistler with chicks

Ducklings emerge from a nest hidden in the vegetation in the first days of life. The mother teaches the offspring to swim and get food.

If the teal does not die in the clutches of predators and does not succumb to disease, it will live 13-16 years. In captivity, miniature ducks can reach 30 years of age.

The teal duck or whistler is the smallest waterfowl duck that is widely known in our country. You can meet her almost anywhere in Russia. What are its features and what are its distinctive 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. Unlike all those known in our country, it has narrow wings with pointed ends, thanks to which it can take off almost vertically. This ability also allows the bird to land even on the most inaccessible ponds densely overgrown with grass. The teal is unpretentious to living conditions, so it settles almost throughout the entire country, except for the extreme cold zones of the North. However, as practice shows, it loves most small forest lakes or swamps with quiet, standing water. In such waters there is always a lot of food for a small bird.

External characteristics

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 reservoirs, but also flies almost silently. True, the plumage of birds is not very bright. Males during the mating season in spring are gray in color with a dark chestnut-colored head and a green stripe, a yellow back and a gray stripe along the wing. The chest of males is pinkish with small dark spots. The bird's belly is white, its sides and shoulder blades are ashen. Very beautiful coloring of the wings, as seen in the photo.

In summer and during the molting period, males acquire a grayer body color without obvious variegated patches. This makes him look like a female. The only distinguishing feature is the bright, still variegated mirror on the wings and the black beak. The female has the same plumage color throughout the year. The predominant color is dark brown with light edges. By the way, the female teal is very similar to the female mallard, only smaller in size, which is clearly visible in the photo.

Reproduction

Teal, unlike most waterfowl wild ducks, reaches sexual maturity already in the first year of life, although they do not always begin breeding immediately. They enter the period of courtship and mating 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 sites or in migration, others - after arriving at the nesting sites. Teal ducks also have another feature - females often winter separately from males. Most ducks go to winter in southern latitudes, while drakes often remain in northern latitudes.

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

Teal usually live in small groups, making nests on the ground near or near water. For the nest, the female digs a hole and lines its bottom with dry grass, leaves or branches of coniferous trees. The duck also covers the nest with its feathers along the entire perimeter.

A female teal lays an average of 8-10 eggs and incubates them for approximately 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 their wings.

Distribution and habitat

The teal duck settles throughout Russia, in the northern part of Eurasia, while in the far north it reaches the Arctic coastline. 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 of Europe, in the western part of Asia Minor and in the Mediterranean.

Most often, teal chooses forest-tundra and forest-steppe for habitat, but you can hardly find it in the continuous steppe. During the breeding season, it settles near bodies of water with standing water. It is here in shallow water that they find food. In winter and autumn, birds, as a rule, feed on plant foods, but in spring and summer – on animal feed. The latter are chosen from mollusks, insects and worms. Today this bird is hunted commercially.