Cinnamon Teal
Scientific Name:
Spatula cyanoptera
Type:
Bird
Habitat:
Freshwater marshes, wetlands, and estuaries
Range:
About the middle of the country to the west, rarely found in the eastern United States
Status:
Least Concern (IUCN Red List)
This species is
NATIVE
to the Truckee Meadows.
Identification:
As his name implies, male Cinnamon Teals are a shimmering shade of cinnamon, while females are a basic brown. Males also have bright red eyes. After breeding season, males will molt to less dramatic plumage similar to females, but he will molt again in late winter back to his bright brownish-red coat. Cinnamon teals are smaller than mallards, with males measuring nearly 17 inches in length and weighing just over 14 ounces. Their bills are rather long which helps them feed.
Fast Facts:
Cinnamon teals are dabblers; eating seeds, aquatic vegetation, with some insects and snails. They may follow one another in a line while feeding as the first duck will stir up the calm water making more food available.
While it is uncommon behavior in ducks, male Cinnamon teals will sometimes help females raise the chicks until they fledge and are independent (about 7 weeks after hatching).
Cinnamon teals have also been classified as Anas cyanoptera.
In Northern Pauite, they are called sogopühü.
Locally, they have been observed throughout the waterways in the south meadows including Damonte Ranch Park, Center Creek park, and Comstock park.
Sources:
National Audubon Field Guide: Cinnamon Teal https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/cinnamon-teal
University of Utah Anthropological Papers Number 114 1989 Willard Z. Park’s Ethnographic Notes on the Northern Paiute of Western Nevada, 1933-1944 Volume 1 Compiled and edited by Catherine S. Fowler (page 54)
Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Cinnamon Teal Overview https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cinnamon_Teal
IUCN Red list https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22680233/92851668
US Fish & Wildlife Service: Cinnamon Teal https://www.fws.gov/refuge/kootenai/wildlife_and_habitat/cinnamon_teal.html
Image 1: cuatrok77, https://www.flickr.com/photos/cuatrok77/13269667734/, license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/, cropped from original.
Image 2: Melissa McMasters, https://www.flickr.com/photos/cricketsblog/31574081411/, license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, cropped from original.
Contributor(s):
Regina Hockett (research & content)
Rachel Carroll (edits & page design)