Diet
The green-winged teal eats the seeds of pondweeds, bulrushes, sedges, grasses, grain, and berries. It pokes its head down in the water to sift food from the mud and it pulls grasses and weeds up from the water's edge. It often travels a good distance from water to find food. Young teals also eat insects.
Life Cycle
The green-winged teal breeds from late April to early June. The female lays six to ten eggs. She lays only one egg a day. The nest is made in long grass near the water in a depression in the ground. The nest is lined with grasses, leaves, weeds, and down. The female often covers the eggs with down to keep them warm when she leaves the nest. Only the female incubates the eggs. The chicks hatch in about 21-23 days. The male leaves the female soon after incubation. The female leads the chicks down to the water when they are a day old. The chicks fledge when they are about a month old. Females are very aggressive in defending their chicks. Female green-winged teals often work together to protect broods from predators like skunks and crows.
Behavior
The green-winged teal is an early migrant. They
migrate in large flocks and often fly low over water, wheeling and turning together. Males migrate first. Green-winged teals migrate both during the day and at night.
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