Cinnamon Teal

The Cinnamon Teal is a small, western dabbling duck closely related to the Blue-winged Teal. The breeding drake is one of the most vividly colored ducks in North America, entirely deep rusty cinnamon-red across the head, neck, and body, with a striking red eye and a long, somewhat spatulate dark bill.

Females are mottled brown, closely resembling female Blue-winged Teal, with the two species best separated by subtle bill shape and facial pattern differences. Both sexes show a pale blue forewing patch in flight, shared with the Blue-winged Teal.

Key Field Marks

• Breeding drake: overall rich cinnamon-red body and head, red eye, long dark bill
• Female: mottled brown, closely resembling female Blue-winged Teal
• Pale blue forewing patch visible in flight on both sexes, bordered by a green speculum
• Bill slightly longer and more spatulate than Blue-winged Teal

Similar Species

Blue-winged Teal drakes are brown and spotted with a bold white facial crescent rather than solid cinnamon-red. Female Cinnamon and Blue-winged Teal are very similar; Cinnamon Teal tends to show a slightly longer, more spatulate bill and a plainer face pattern.

Cinnamon Teal breed primarily in the western United States, favoring shallow freshwater marshes, ponds, and wetlands, often with alkaline or brackish influence, across the Great Basin, Central Valley, and interior West. The species also has resident populations in parts of Mexico, Central America, and South America.

North American breeders are migratory, wintering in Mexico and Central America, while southern populations may be largely non-migratory.

Cinnamon Teal feed by dabbling and tipping up in shallow water, taking seeds, aquatic plants, and invertebrates, often foraging in small flocks along marsh edges and shallow pond margins. Their spatulate bill shape suggests a diet somewhat intermediate between typical teal and the filter-feeding shovelers.

The male's call is a soft, chattering note, generally quieter than many other dabbling ducks. Nests are built on the ground in dense grass or marsh vegetation close to water, with females incubating a clutch of 6-12 eggs alone.