Beak of the Week – Cinnamon Teal

This week’s Beak of the Week is a stunning one. The Cinnamon Teal is a regular (though not overly common) wintertime visitor to the Houston area, a cheery splash of red floating among the reeds of freshwater ponds. Relatively small overall with a large head and long bill, Cinnamon Teal have a fairly nondescript silhouette. The male’s breeding plumage is its most distinct ID feature, vivid, rusty red overall. They also sport a white underwing, light blue shoulder, and green secondaries which are usually only visible in flight. Breeding males lose their crimson hue during molt, and from late summer through autumn they look like the juveniles and females: brown body, faintly dark eyeline, and dark cap. Molted males can be distinguished from the Blue-winged Teal by their red eyes, while Cinnamon Teal of all sexes and ages may be set apart from other teal by their longer, wider bill.

Compared to other ducks, Cinnamon Teal breeding is unusual. They have separate breeding populations in North and South America. Only one subspecies of five occurs in North America (septentrionalium), the other four residing in South America. Tropica and borreroi are Columbia endemics, while orinomus and cyanoptera occur in and south of Peru. Subspecies differ largely in the intensity of their red plumage, amount of spotting in their plumage, and the degree of size difference between males and females.

North American Cinnamon Teal breed and molt in freshwater wetlands, with US breeding populations generally confined west of the Rockies. Most abundant on large, permanent marshes, Cinnamon Teal may also be found in streams, reservoirs, ditches, stock ponds, and temporary wetlands. They are not overly particular about habitat, as long as it possesses the necessary vegetation for nest-building and food. Marsh grass seeds and shoots make up a large portion of their diet, though they do consume snails, beetles, dragonflies, midges, and other insects. Like most dabbling ducks, Cinnamon Teal forage from the water’s surface, sometimes following each other in tight groups like Northern Shovelers do.

Cinnamon Teal are far from endangered, though their populations have declined in the past fifty years. Partners in Flight estimates the global breeding population to be roughly 380,000, placing them on the Yellow Watch List for declining species. Agriculture and industry have led to the contamination and loss of the wetlands they rely on, while US hunters kill an estimated 800,000 each year. Protected wetlands are crucial for the preservation of this beautiful duck. The Shoveler Pond loop at Anahuac NWR is a reliable place to find them, with breeding plumage males standing out from the other waterfowl in their full ruddy glory.