Blue-billed Teal
Scientific Name
Geographic Range
Diet
About This Animal
Blue-billed teals are one of the smallest species of waterfowl in the world. They are called blue-billed teals because of the color of their bills. These ducks are generally covered in light brown feathers, with darker brown plumage on the breast, the top of the head, and wings, which are tipped with bluish-green.
This coloration provides camouflage in the freshwater marshes, swamps, lakes, and even semi-arid habitats where they live. Southern and eastern African blue-billed teals migrate for short distances, but West African and Madagascar-based populations do not.
These ducks are active mostly at dusk and dawn, and they are somewhat social. They live in small groups and breed in single pairs throughout the year. They usually build nests in hidden areas above water, such as partially-submerged trees. Their incubation period is 12 to 22 days.
Blue-billed teals have a large range (all of sub-Saharan Africa minus the Congo River basin and the Kalahari desert) and face no immediate threats in the wild. However, their populations are decreasing due to hunting and habitat degradation caused by activities that convert wetlands into agricultural areas.
Commitment to Care
Lincoln Park Zoo prioritizes individual well-being over everything else. Guided by scientific research, staff and volunteers work to provide the best welfare outcomes for each individual in the zoo’s care.
Support Your Zoo
Animals Depend On People Too
When you ADOPT an animal, you support world-class animal care by helping to provide specially formulated diets, new habitat elements, and regular veterinary checkups.
Wish List
The Wish List is full of one-of-a-kind items for the zoo’s animals, including nutritious snacks and enrichment items to keep them active and healthy.
Take Action With Us
Wildlife face many daunting challenges—some global, like planet-wide climate change, and some that affect individuals, like an animal ingesting plastic—but now is not the time to despair. None of these problems are too big for us to come together and solve.
