Characteristics
 The cinnamon teal is about 14-17 inches long and has a wingspan of about two feet. The female has a light brown head and neck, a gray bill and brown eyes. Her
breast and sides are brown and streaked with darker V-shaped spots, her upperparts are brown and her belly is white.
She has a light blue shoulder patch on her upper wings with a white band of feathers under the patch and a strip of green feathers at the edge of the wing.
 The male cinnamon teal has a bright cinnamon-colored head, neck, stomach and sides. He has a black bill, yellow legs and feet and red eyes. His wing makings are the same as the female's markings but his shoulder patch is a darker blue.
Range
 The cinnamon teal breeds in western North America from British Columbia in Canada east to Montana and south to California, Mexico and Texas. It winters in the southern part of its breeding range.
Habitat
 The cinnamon teal can be found in shallow ponds marshes, lakes and streams with low growing reeds and other plants at the edges. |
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Diet
 The cinnamon teal is a dabbling duck. It usually feeds in shallow water where it scoops up floating plants, seeds and even insects. It will also dive for food and eat aquatic invertebrates.
Life Cycle
 The female cinnamon teal will swim in front of a male she is interested in attracting. The males will preen, dip his head and take short flights to attract a female.
The female will build a nest out of grass, down and plants stems. Sometimes, the female will build nests underneath dead reeds and plant stems. She will enter the nest through tunnels she makes in the plants. She lays nine to twelve eggs. The eggs hatch in about three weeks.
The chicks are covered in down when they are born and will leave the nest and feed themselves within 34 hours. They will stay with their mother until they fledge when they are about a month and a half old.
Behavior
 Cinnamon teals travel in small flocks made up of male and female pairs. They are very fast flyers and can take off directly from the water.
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