Blue-billed Teal

Spatula hottentota

Wetlands. Small, brown-capped duck with blue-grey bill.

Ducks, Geese

Not Endemic

Description

Common resident. Differs from [Red-billed Teal] in very small size (almost as tiny as [African Pygmy-Goose]), grey-blue (not pinkish-red) bill and absence of any speckling on rear part of the body. When swimming, the flank feathers usually overlap the wing to form a zigzag dividing line. Normally silent. Pairs and groups frequent shallow freshwater marshes, pans and dams, especially sewage ponds. Spends much of the day resting out of water.

Quick Facts

Bird Family

Most of the region's ducks are either migratory to some extent or locally nomadic, their movements being dictated by food, rainfall and breeding requirements. Many show marked plumage differences between the sexes. Ducks and geese undergo a flightless four-to-eight-week period each year when they moult all their flight feathers simultaneously. The large Spur-winged and Egyptian Geese differ from geese of the northern hemisphere in having longer bills and legs, the African Pygmy-Goose being our only representative of the ‘true' geese. Ducks of the genus *Dendrocygna* (whistling ducks), which include the White-faced and Fulvous whistling ducks, differ from those of other genera in having close-set legs placed well back on the body. This enables them to stand erect and walk without waddling. In addition they show no sexual dimorphism and have whistling voices. In contrast, ducks of the genus *Anas*, often referred to as dabbling ducks, have widely spaced legs placed centrally on the body. This causes them to stand with the body horizontally and to walk with a waddle. They are further typified by quacking voices.