Bird Guide

Cinnamon Teal vs Northern Shoveler

Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera)

Cinnamon Teal

Spatula cyanoptera

Large377 gWetland

The adult male has a cinnamon-red head and body with a brown back, a red eye and a dark bill. The adult female has a mottled brown body, a pale brown head, brown eyes and a grey bill and is very similar in appearance to a female blue-winged teal; however, its overall color is richer, the lores, eye line, and eye ring are less distinct. Its bill is longer and more spatulate. Male juvenile resembles a female cinnamon or blue-winged teal but their eyes are red. They are 16 in (41 cm) long, have a 22-inch (560 mm) wingspan, and weigh 14 oz (400 g).

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: diegohernanperez · CC BY 4.0
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

Large613 gWetland

This species is unmistakable in the Northern Hemisphere due to its large, spatulated bill. The breeding drake has an iridescent, dark green head, though less intensely iridescent than a drake mallard's head, and appears black at distance or in poor light, white breast, and chestnut belly and flanks, and a black or very dark grey bill. In flight, pale blue forewing feathers are revealed, separated from the green speculum by a white border. In early autumn, the male has a white crescent on each side of the face.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Sonothèque ADVL · CC0
Photo: Alexis Lours · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Cinnamon Teal and Northern Shoveler.