Index of Species Information
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Spatula discors
|
|
 |
| Blue-winged teals. Image by Joy Viola, Northeastern University, Bugwood.org. |
Introductory
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION:
Tesky, Julie L. 1993. Spatula discors. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer).
Available: www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/animals/bird/andi/all.html [].
Revisions:
On 20 November 2018, the scientific name of this species was changed in FEIS
from: Anas discors
to: Spatula discors. The image was also added.
ABBREVIATION:
SPDI
COMMON NAMES:
blue-winged teal
bluewing
summer teal
white-faced teal
TAXONOMY:
The scientific name for the blue-winged teal is Spatula
discors (Linnaeus) [21]. The two subspecies recognized are listed below
[1,10]:
Spatula discors discors, western blue-winged teal
Spatula discors orphna (Stewart and Aldrich), Atlantic blue-winged teal
The blue-winged teal hybridizes with the cinnamon teal (S. cyanoptera) [21].
ORDER:
Anseriformes
CLASS:
Bird
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS:
No special status
OTHER STATUS:
NO-ENTRY
WILDLIFE DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Spatula discors
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION:
The blue-winged teal breeds from east-central Alaska and southern
Mackenzie District east to southern Quebec and southwestern
Newfoundland. In the contiguous United States it breeds from northeast
California east to central Louisiana, central Tennessee, and the
Atlantic Coast [4,10]. The western blue-winged teal inhabits that part
of the breeding range west of the Appalachian Mountains. The Atlantic
blue-winged teal nests along the Atlantic Coast from New Brunswick to
Pea Island, North Carolina [1].
The blue-winged teal winters from southern California to western and
southern Texas, the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast and south to
Central and South America. It is often seen wintering as far south as
Brazil and central Chile [4,11,16].
ECOSYSTEMS:
FRES11 Spruce-fir
FRES14 Oak-pine
FRES15 Oak-hickory
FRES17 Elm-ash-cottonwood
FRES18 Maple-beech-birch
FRES19 Aspen-birch
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES22 Western white pine
FRES23 Fir-spruce
FRES24 Hemlock-Sitka spruce
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES34 Chaparral-mountain shrub
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie
FRES41 Wet grasslands
FRES42 Annual grasslands
STATES:
| AL |
AK |
AZ |
AR |
CA |
CO |
CT |
DE |
FL |
GA |
HI |
| ID |
IL |
IN |
IA |
KS |
KY |
LA |
ME |
MD |
MA |
| MI |
MN |
MS |
MO |
MT |
NE |
NV |
NH |
NJ |
SD |
| TN |
TX |
UT |
VT |
VA |
WA |
WV |
WI |
WY |
| AB |
BC |
MB |
NB |
NF |
NT |
NS |
ON |
PE |
PQ |
| SK |
YT |
|
|
|
| | | |
|
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS:
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
14 Great Plains
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:
K001 Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
K002 Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
K003 Silver fir - Douglas-fir forest
K004 Fir - hemlock forest
K005 Mixed conifer forest
K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
K013 Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
K025 Alder - ash forest
K029 California mixed evergreen forest
K033 Chaparral
K034 Montane chaparral
K047 Fescue - oatgrass
K048 California steppe
K049 Tule marshes
K050 Fescue - wheatgrass
K051 Wheatgrass - bluegrass
K053 Grama - galleta steppe
K054 Grama - tobosa prairie
K056 Wheatgrass - needlegrass shrubsteppe
K057 Galleta - three-awn shrubsteppe
K058 Grama - tobosa shrubsteppe
K063 Foothills prairie
K064 Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
K065 Grama - buffalograss
K066 Wheatgrass - needlegrass
K067 Wheatgrass - bluestem - needlegrass
K068 Wheatgrass - grama - buffalograss
K069 Bluestem - grama prairie
K070 Sandsage - bluestem prairie
K072 Sea oats prairie
K073 Northern cordgrass prairie
K074 Bluestem prairie
K075 Nebraska Sandhills prairie
K076 Blackland prairie
K077 Bluestem - sacahuista prairie
K078 Southern cordgrass prairie
K079 Palmetto prairie
K080 Marl - everglades
K081 Oak savanna
K082 Mosaic of K074 and K100
K088 Fayette prairie
K090 Live oak - sea oats
K091 Cypress savanna
K092 Everglades
K093 Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
K094 Conifer bog
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
K097 Southeastern spruce - fir forest
K098 Northern floodplain forest
K100 Oak - hickory forest
K105 Mangrove
K107 Northern hardwoods - fir forest
K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
K109 Transition between K104 and K106
K110 Northeastern oak - pine forest
K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
K113 Southern floodplain forest
SAF COVER TYPES:
5 Balsam fir
12 Black spruce
13 Black spruce - tamarack
16 Aspen
17 Pin cherry
18 Paper birch
19 Gray birch - red maple
38 Tamarack
63 Cottonwood
88 Willow oak - water oak - diamondleaf oak
89 Live oak
91 Swamp chestnut oak - cherrybark oak
95 Black willow
106 Mangrove
201 White spruce
202 White spruce - paper birch
203 Balsam poplar
204 Black spruce
205 Mountain hemlock
206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
217 Aspen
235 Cottonwood - willow
253 Black spruce - white spruce
254 Black spruce - paper birch
252 Paper birch
PLANT COMMUNITIES:
The blue-winged teal is primarily found in the northern prairies and
parklands. It is the most abundant duck in the mixed-grass prairies of
the Dakotas and the prairie provinces of Canada. The blue-winged teal
is also found in wetlands of boreal forest associations, shortgrass
prairies, tallgrass prairies, and deciduous woodlands [1].
This duck commonly inhabits wetland communities dominated by bulrush
(Scirpus spp.), cattail (Typha spp.), pondweed (Potamogeton spp.),
sedges (Carex spp.), widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima), and other emergent
and aquatic vegetation [1,2,8,17]. During molting, it often remains
among extensive beds of bulrushes and cattails. The blue-winged teal
favors areas dominated by bluegrass (Poa spp.) for nesting. Hayfields
and plant communities of buckbrush (Ceonothus cuneatus) and sedges are
also important as nest sites [1]. In the winter, blue-winged teal often
inhabits mangrove (Rhizophora spp.) swamps [14].
BIOLOGICAL DATA AND HABITAT REQUIREMENTS
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Spatula discors
TIMING OF MAJOR LIFE HISTORY EVENTS:
Courtship and pair bonding - The onset of courtship among immature
blue-winged teal often starts in late January or early February. In
areas south of the breeding grounds, blue-winged teal are more active in
courtship during the spring migration than are most other ducks [1].
Nesting - Blue-winged teal are among the last dabbling ducks to nest
[1], generally nesting between April 15 and May 15 [1,2]. Few nests are
started after mid-July [1]. Chronology of nesting can vary from year to
year as a result of weather conditions. At Delta Marshes, Manitoba,
blue-winged teal nesting was delayed a week in 1950 due to abnormally
cold weather [1].
Clutch/incubation - Blue-winged teal generally lay 10 to 12 eggs [10].
Delayed nesting and renesting efforts have substantially smaller
clutches, averaging five to six eggs [10]. Clutch size can also vary
with the age of the hen. Yearlings tend to lay smaller clutches [1].
Incubation takes 21 to 27 days [1,2,10].
Age at sexual maturity - Blue-winged teal are sexually mature after
their first winter [10].
Fledging - Blue-winged teal ducklings can walk to water within 12 hours
after hatching but do not fledge until 6 to 7 weeks [2,10].
Molting - During incubation, the drake leaves its mate and moves to
suitable molting cover where it becomes flightless for a period of 3 to
4 weeks [10].
Migration - Blue-winged teal are generally the first ducks south in the
fall and the last ones north in the spring [1]. Adult drakes depart the
breeding grounds well before adult hens and immatures. Most blue-winged
teal flocks seen after mid-September are composed largely of adult hens
and immatures [1].
The northern regions experience a steady decline in blue-winged teal
populations from early September until early November. Blue-winged teal
in central migration areas tend to remain through September, then
diminish rapidly during October, with small numbers remaining until
December. Large numbers of blue-winged teal appear on wintering grounds
in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas in September [1].
PREFERRED HABITAT:
Breeding habitat - Blue-winged teal inhabit shoreline more often than
open water and prefer calm water or sluggish currents to fast water.
They inhabit inland marshes, lakes, ponds, pools, and shallow streams
with dense emergent vegetation [4]. In coastal areas, breeding occurs
in salt-marsh meadows with adjoining ponds or creeks [10]. Blue-winged
teal use rocks protruding above water, muskrat houses, trunks or limbs
of fallen trees, bare stretches of shoreline, or mud flats for resting
sites [4].
Winter habitat - Blue-winged teal winter on shallow inland freshwater
marshes and brackish and saltwater marshes [4].
Nesting habitat - Blue-winged teal build their nests on dry ground in
grassy sites such as bluegrass meadows, hayfields, and sedge meadows.
They will also nest in areas with very short, sparse vegetation [6].
Blue-winged teal generally nest within several hundred yards of open
water; however, nests have been found as far as 1 mile (1.6 km) away
from water [1]. Where the habitat is good, they nest communally [4].
COVER REQUIREMENTS:
Blue-winged teal often use heavy growth of bulrushes and cattails as
escape cover [2]. Grasses, sedges, and hayfields provide nesting cover
for these ducks [6]. Fritzell [6] reported that blue-winged teal nests
located in light to sparse cover were more successful than those in
heavy cover. Nesting success was 47 percent on grazed areas and 14
percent on ungrazed areas [6].
FOOD HABITS:
Blue-winged teal are surface feeders and prefer to feed on mud flats, in
fields, or in shallow water where there is floating and shallowly
submerged vegetation plus abundant small aquatic animal life. They
mostly eat vegetative matter consisting of seeds or stems and leaves of
sedge, grass, pondweed, smartweed (Polygonum spp.), duckweed (Lemna
spp.), widgeongrass, and muskgrass (Chara spp.) [1,4,10]. The seeds of
plants that grow on mud flats, such as nutgrass (Cyperus spp.),
smartweed, millet (Panicum spp.), and rice cut-grass (Leersia
oryzoides), are avidly consumed by this duck [1]. One-fourth of the
food consumed by blue-winged teals is animal matter such as mollusks,
crustaceans, and insects [1,4,10].
PREDATORS:
Common predators of blue-winged teal include humans, snakes, snapping
turtles (Chlycha serpentina), dogs (Canidae), eastern crows (Corvus
brachyrhnchos), magpies (Pica spp.), ground squirrels (Citellus spp.),
coyotes (Canis latrans), red foxes (Vulpes fulva), gray foxes (Urocyon
cinereoargenteus), raccoons (Procyon lotor), long-tailed weasels
(Mustela frenata), minks (Vison vison), striped skunks (Mephitis
mephitis), spotted skunks (Spilogale putorius), and badgers (Taxidea
taxus) [1,2].
During one study, about half of the nest failures of blue-winged teal
were caused by mammals. Striped and spotted skunks were responsible for
two-thirds of these losses. All nest losses caused by birds were
attributed to either crows or magpies [1].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
Farm activities such as mowing of hayfields, plowing, fence-building,
and trampling by cattle can destroy blue-winged teal nests [1].
In spite of low hunting losses, blue-winged teals have a higher annual
mortality than other dabbling ducks. Perhaps the high nonhunting losses
occur because of the blue-winged teal's lengthy overwater flights to
South America [1].
FIRE EFFECTS AND USE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Spatula discors
DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS:
Fire occurring in blue-winged teal nesting habitat during April through
June could destroy a large number of nests [1,2]. Blue-winged teal
nests in short, sparse vegetation are less subject to fire destruction.
Such scant cover is not intentionally burned as often as heavy cover
[6]. Ducklings and molting adults are especially vulnerable to fire.
Adult nonmolting blue-winged teal can probably easily escape fire.
HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS:
Fire can remove blue-winged teal nesting cover [19]. Although
blue-winged teal do not show a preference for burned cover, they use
burned areas more often than do other dabbling ducks [6]. Fritzell [6]
found 16 of 19 nests in burned areas to be those of blue-winged teal.
Large-scale autumn burning may have a detrimental effect on marshes by
reducing their ability to catch and retain drifting snow, which adds
heavily to spring run-off. The ability of marsh vegetation to catch and
hold snow can be vital to marsh survival [19]. Fire often removes
excessive accumulations of fast-growing hydrophytes, permitting better
waterfowl access and growth of more desirable duck foods. Fire can be
used to convert forested uplands adjacent to aquatic habitats to grasses
and sedges, thus increasing the nesting potential for some waterfowl
[18].
FIRE USE:
Prescribed fire can be used to create nesting edge for ducks. Removal
of dense vegetation and woody encroachment is vital if prairie marshes
are to remain in this successional state [19]. According to Ward [19],
spring burning in marshlands is primarily done to remove vegetation and
create more nesting edge. Summer fires are used to create more
permanent changes in the plant community. If prescribed burning is used
as a management technique in marshes, burning must be completed well
before or after the nesting season [19]. For blue-winged teal, summer
burning should occur after July [19]. Fire can also be used to reduce
predator activity through the elimination of hiding cover [6].
Fire can be used to remove fast-growing undesirable species, such as
common reed (Phragmites australis), and increase production of desirable
blue-winged teal foods such as pondweed and duckweed [20]. The best way
to reduce common reed with prescribed burning is to burn during the
summer when carbohydrate reserves in the plant are low and the soil is
dry [9].
FIRE REGIMES:
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
REFERENCES
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Spatula discors
REFERENCES:
1. Bellrose, Frank C. 1980. Ducks, geese and swans of North America.
Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books. 3rd ed. 540 p. [19802]
2. Bennett, Logan J. 1938. The blue-winged teal: Its ecology and
management. Ames, IA: Collegiate Press, Inc. 144 p. [20025]
3. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
4. DeGraaf, Richard M.; Scott, Virgil E.; Hamre, R. H.; [and others]. 1991.
Forest and rangeland birds of the United States: Natural history and
habitat use. Agric. Handb. 688. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 625 p. [15856]
5. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
6. Fritzell, Erik K. 1975. Effects of agricultural burning on nesting
waterfowl. Canadian Field-Naturalist. 89: 21-27. [14635]
7. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
8. Harris, Stanley W. 1954. An ecological study of the waterfowl of the
Potholes Area, Grant County, Washington. American Midland Naturalist.
52(2): 403-432. [11207]
9. Higgins, Kenneth F.; Kruse, Arnold D.; Piehl, James L. 1989. Effects of
fire in the Northern Great Plains. Ext. Circ. EC-761. Brookings, SD:
South Dakota State University, Cooperative Extension Service, South
Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. 47 p. [14749]
10. Johnsgard, Paul A. 1979. A guide to North American waterfowl.
Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. 274 p. [20026]
11. Johnson, Douglas H.; Grier, James W. 1988. Determinants of breeding
distribution of ducks. Wildlife Monographs. 100: 1-37. [21350]
12. Kruse, Arnold D.; Higgins, Kenneth F. 1990. Effects of prescribed fire
upon wildlife habitat in northern mixed-grass prairie. In: Alexander, M.
E.; Bisgrove, G. F., technical coordinators. The art and science of fire
management: Proceedings, 1st Interior West Fire Council annual meeting
and workshop; 1988 October 24-27; Kananaskis Village, AB. Inf. Rep.
NOR-X-309. Edmonton, AB: Forestry Canada, Northwest Region, Northern
Forestry Centre: 182-193. [14146]
13. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
14. Madge, Steve; Burn, Hilary. 1988. Waterfowl: An identification guide to
the ducks, geese and swans of the world. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin
Company. 298 p. [20029]
15. Martz, Gerald F. 1967. Effects of nesting cover removal on breeding
puddle ducks. Journal of Wildlife Management. 31(2): 236-247. [16284]
16. Musgrove, Jack W.; Musgrove, Mary R. 1943. Waterfowl in Iowa. Des
Moines, IA: State Conservation Committee. 113 p. + index. [20028]
17. Smith, Loren M.; Kadlec, John A. 1986. Habitat management for wildlife
in marshes of Great Salt Lake. Trans., North American Wildlife and
Natural Resource Conference. 51: 222-231. [11428]
18. Vogl, Richard J. 1967. Controlled burning for wildlife in Wisconsin. In:
Proceedings, 6th annual Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference; 1967 March
6-7; Tallahassee, FL. No. 6. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research
Station: 47-96. [18726]
19. Ward, P. 1968. Fire in relation to waterfowl habitat of the delta
marshes. In: Proceedings, annual Tall Timbers fire ecology conference;
1968 March 14-15; Tallahassee, FL. No. 8. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers
Research Station: 255-267. [18932]
20. Schlichtemeier, Gary. 1967. Marsh burning for waterfowl. In:
Proceedings, 6th annual Tall Timbers fire ecology conference; 1967 March
6-7; Tallahassee, FL. No. 6. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research
Station: 40-46. [16450]
21. American Ornithologists' Union. 2018. The A.O.U. check-list of North American
birds, 7th ed., [Online]. American Ornithologists' Union (Producer). Available:
http://checklist.aou.org/. [50863]
FEIS Home Page
