Silver Teal Spatula versicolor Scientific name definitions

The Silver Teal is a small puddle duck that is widely distributed across Southern South America.  It can be found in a variety of freshwater wetland types, and usually nests in shoreline vegetation.  Two subspecies of Silver Teal have differentiated over a north to south gradient, and the Puna Teal of the Andes was formerly considered to be conspecific.  These ducks are well patterned with a dark cap, pale cream face, and gray, black, and white barred flanks; the wings show a green speculum bordered by white.

38–43 cm; male 409–473 g, female 373–384 g (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close , 2 Salvador, S. A., and A. G. Di Giacomo (2014). Datos de pesos de aves argentinas. Parte 3. Historia Natural 4(2):63–88. Close ). Easily identified in range by striking head and bill patterns. Male  has blackish-brown cap, separated from pale buff cheeks, neck and breast buff with small black spots that become bars on flanks, rump and tail-coverts finely vermiculated black and white, upperwing-coverts dull slaty blue, greater secondary coverts tipped white, speculum iridescent green with posterior black and white bars, underwing banded with grey; bill  pale blue, with black nail and culmen, and yellowish spot below and behind nostrils, legs and feet greyish, eyes brown; has no eclipse plumage. Female duller, sometimes lacking yellow on base of bill and has less distinctly barred flanks. Juvenile duller with less iridescent speculum; head less contrastingly patterned. Races vary in colour and size, with nominate smallest and palest; <em>fretensis</em> is similar, but slightly larger (wing of male 190–205 mm, versus 183–195 mm in nominate) and plumage darker (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). For differences from previously conspecific (and allopatric) <em>S. puna</em> , see that species.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Shallow freshwater lakes, swamps and pools bordered with abundant floating or emergent vegetation in open country, from puna zone of high Andes (up to 4600 m) to pampas marshes (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Partially migratory; southernmost breeding birds move northwards to winter as far N as SE Brazil, reaching as far as Santa Catarina  (4 Rupp, A.E., Thom e Silva, G., Laps, R.R. and Zimmermann, C.E. (2008). Registros relevantes de aves campestres e aquáticas no Planalto Norte de Santa Catarina, Brasil. Rev. Bras. Orn. 16(4): 369–372. Close ), São Paulo  (5 Macarrão Montanhini, A. and Andrade Figueiredo, L.F. (2007). Primeiro registro da garça-real, Pilherodius pileatus e primeiros registros documentados da marreca-cricri, Anas versicolor e da marreca-parda, Anas georgica para o município de São Paulo. Atualidades Orn.. 138: 18–19. Close ) and Rio de Janeiro (6 Sick, H. (1997). Ornitologia Brasileira. Editora Nova Fronteira, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ). Bolivian records, which are very few, perhaps also result of such movements, with records from Tarija and Cochabamba, most recently in Jul and Sept (7 Lane, D. F. (2014). New and noteworthy records of birds in Bolivia. Cotinga 36:56–67. Close ). Other populations mainly sedentary, although has been recorded at sea almost 90 km off the Argentine coast in Nov (8 Seco Pon, J.P. and Bastida, J. (2015). Patos Barcino (Anas flavirostris), Capuchino (Anas versicolor), y Overo (Anas sibilatrix) en el sur del Océano Atlántico. Nuestras Aves. 60: 54–55. Close ).

Seeds and vegetative parts of aquatic plants, grasses and sedges; also aquatic invertebrates (insects and larvae, molluscs, crustaceans). Feeds by dabbling on surface, head-dipping and upending in shallow waters; occasionally dives.

Vocalizations of male include a quiet “buzz” which accompanies “Burp-whistle” that sounds like winding watch; also a quiet, continuous rattle while swimming and series of quiet alarm calls with similar buzzing noises given by male escorting female and ducklings, whereas female gives loud persistent quacking notes  during pre-breeding period and a long “Decrescendo” call comprising a long note followed by 8–15 shorter ones (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Season variable: starts mainly Oct/Nov in S; Sept–Mar in Peru (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Male to some extent polygamous, pursuing additional females and forcing extra-pair copulations, but extent of such behaviour not well known and at least some pair-bonds are long-term (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). In single pairs or loose groups; nests on ground in rough vegetation. Clutch 6–10 (mean eight) eggs in versicolor, size 47–51·8 mm × 32·6–36·8 mm (versicolor), mass (in captivity) 26–38 g (versicolor) (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); incubation 25–26 days (captivity), by female alone (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); chicks have blackish-brown down above  , greyish white below, with pairs of white dorsal spots on wings and sides, broad back eyestripe reaching nape, narrow brown line encircling cheeks, greyish-blue bill (with indication of yellow spot in versicolor), mean weight on hatching 18 g; no data on fledging period, but male  also accompanies brood and defends female during this period (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Probably breeds at one year old (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). No further information.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Fairly widespread and locally abundant, with estimated populations of 25,000–100,000 for versicolor and fretensis (1 Kear, J., Editor (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Volume 1: General chapters, and Species accounts (Anhima to Salvadorina). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Populations of south cone especially numerous in pampas marshes, often in large flocks. Represents 5% of total identified ducks in partial census in Jul 1990 in Uruguay, and approximately 2% in Argentina. On Falkland Is, resident in small numbers, with an estimated population during the breeding bird survey of 1983–1993 of 800–1500 pairs (9 Woods, R. W., and A. Woods (1997) Atlas of Breeding Birds of the Falkland Islands. Anthony Nelson, Oswestry, UK. Close ). Under certain amount of pressure from hunting.