Teal whistle - description, habitat, interesting facts

This small duck is three times smaller than an ordinary mallard, reaches a length of no more than 38 centimeters, and in weight - no more than 450 grams. Female individuals are particularly miniature, their weight fluctuates around 250 grams. For this reason, this representative of the duck family is the smallest of the ducks that live in rivers and lakes. Her subtle and sonorous whistle can always be distinguished among the voices of other birds. Because of this, the teal was nicknamed the "whistle."

Habitat

Almost all teal live in temperate and northern climates, preferring Eurasia. A separate subspecies of teal is the green-winged teal. They nest in North America. A duck is a migratory bird and travels to the western or southern parts of Europe, Africa or Asia for wintering. Forms nests in pairs, lives in a pack.

She prefers forest ponds. There, the bird feels comfortable, reaching the largest number of flocks. Teal nests can be found in the forest-tundra and forest-steppe. However, in the steppe the whistle takes root extremely rarely, but often in the tundra. From there, the teal flies for the winter in September, and from the middle lane - at the end of October.

In the mating season, birds give particular preference to small reservoirs with fresh water and marsh vegetation: small ponds, streams, river floodplains, and small rivers.

When the poultry egg laying period ends, it can also be found in the flood meadow, reservoir, and sometimes even on the sea coast or in the river delta. For her, the main thing is that more plants stick out of the water, especially during the difficult period of molting, because feathers of a wing are lost. So it is easier for her to hide from predators and find food for herself.

Features and Reproduction

There are as many as twenty types of teal in the world. All these waterfowl belong to river birds. The whistles were lucky - their populations are not particularly threatened so far, but the marble teal is already threatened with extinction. Ornithologists argue that the last time data on his population were recorded in 1984. Teal-Gogol, for example, today recalls itself only from a catch phrase. These birds disappeared without a trace.

In addition to these species, among teals:

• blue;
• gray;
• Madagascar
• Auckland
• brown;
• brown;
• Campbell
• chestnut.

In addition to the official name "whistle", a miniature teal is also called small or crackling. Sometimes you can even hear the name "genital."

A teal takeoff is truly a spectacular sight. The whistle almost immediately takes a vertical position in the air. Such a unique feature is characteristic only of these birds because of the special structure of the wing. It differs in a narrow and pointed form. Thanks to such wings, the teal easily lands on almost any surface, which helps it very much in flights over swamps and rivers.

Very often, birds can be found in the company of mallards. This is no coincidence, because the birds have the same nesting places. Outwardly, they are difficult to confuse with each other, since teals have certain greenish plumes of plumage on the wings, which are so smooth that they even shine.

The rest of the summer, the bird is painted very plainly. Most of her plumage has a dark brown color, except for the abdomen - here she has a white feather. In the spring, all males transform, becoming bright and attractive to females. After molting, the plumage of their heads acquires a red-brown color with green stripes on the sides. Along the edging of green stripes, thin white lines run down from two sides to the beak itself.The rest of the body of the drake is grayish with light brown spots in the form of small spots.

Feeding birds is not very diverse. They're eating:

• crustaceans;
• insects and their larvae;
• various midges;
• Worms
• tadpoles;
• mollusks;
• duckweed and cereal seeds.

Birds get their protein food from both air and water. Hunting for mollusks or other aquatic inhabitants, they literally “stand” in the water on their heads. Only the tail and paws remain on the surface. So, like a float, they get their own food. When it gets colder and the living creatures become smaller, birds search for themselves plant food on the shore, in reeds and coastal grass, picking various grass seeds with their beaks and especially preferring tender duckweed.

At the age of one, miniature ducks are ready for mating games. Pairs form until the birds fly to the nesting site. Birds perform mating dance exclusively on the water. The male swims around his girlfriend, clutching a colorfully painted head to his chest and dropping his beak into the water. From time to time, he throws his head back and raises his spread wings. At the same time, everything around is filled with sparkling splashes and a sonorous whistle. At that time, the duck throws its head back and as if pecks someone, turning its neck to the right and to the left. After dancing, it's time to lay eggs. Their female lays from 5 to 15-16 pieces. This number of eggs helps maintain a teal population.

These feathered nests build simple: from grass, reeds and small twigs. Like any other bird, a duck strengthens it with its down in order to maintain a constant temperature of masonry. Small eggs have a beige hue, which makes them almost invisible among the grass.

At teals, females are engaged in the construction of the nest and the incubation of the chicks, while the males are sent to molt at this time. Ducklings emerge from eggs on the 22-30th day. The warmer the air temperature, the shorter the hatching period of the chicks.

Ducklings are born in a motley down and from the first days they independently move behind their mother. Very quickly they learn to swim and hunt independently under the supervision of a duck.

In the wild, strong individuals of whistles live up to 16 years, and in captivity - up to 30 years.

Interesting Facts

Ornithologists call the crackler the most carefree representative of ducks. This is no coincidence. Birds are agile on water, but on land they behave clumsily and even slowly. In the case of flight from a predator, they are often very poorly disguised and hide, becoming its prey.

Although females of teal take the “upbringing” of offspring themselves, the males, moving away from them for molting, stay close to the nest. For the winter, teal-whistles fly earlier than other ducks - already in mid-August.

Whistlers are not threatened with extinction in the near future, but the growth rate of the population as a whole has slowed down and there is even a tendency to reduce them. This is due to the global deterioration of wildlife and climate change on the planet. Human populations are also disturbed by agricultural activities, as a result of which bird nests often go bankrupt.

Today, in order to preserve this species, it is artificially grown in zoological nurseries and gardens. The bird feels good in captivity and successfully breeds.

Video: teal - whistle and crackler