Cinnamon Teal

CINNAMON TEALSimilarly to blue-winged teal, shovelers and other species within the same genus, Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera, formerly Anas cyanoptera) have a light blue wing patches and dark green speculums separated by a white stripe formed by secondary coverts. Legs are yellow, bills graphite-colored.  Drake cinnamon teal molt into their showy, ruddy, dark-paprika colored plumage during their wintering months, covering the head, breast, and underbelly. Drakes also have black coloring running down their back, covering the tail. Nutmeg-colored tertials in contrast to cinnamon colored body plumage is stunning. During the non-breeding season, drakes resemble the hens with a mottled brown coloration, with the wing feathers a deep brown, fringed on the sides with a much lighter brown. Cinnamon teal may then be discerned from blue-winged teal by their wider and longer black bills and the drake’s bright red eyes.