Garganey vs Silver Teal

Garganey

Spatula querquedula

Large326 gWetland

The adult male is unmistakable, with its brown head and breast with a broad white crescent over the eye. The rest of the plumage is grey, with loose grey scapular feathers. It has a grey bill and legs. In flight, it shows a pale blue speculum with a white border. When swimming it will show prominent white edges on its tertials. His crown (anatomy) is dark and his face is reddish brown. Some care is needed in separating the brown female from the similar common teal, but the stronger face markings and more frequent head-shaking when dabbling are good indicators.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Song · Sougéal, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France · CC0

Photo: karimhaddad · CC BY 4.0

Silver Teal

Spatula versicolor

Large595 gWetland

They have a black cap that extends below the eyes, and a bluish bill with a yellow tip. They also have a green speculum with a white border. The female's plumage is slightly duller and has less yellow at the base of the beak. The Puna teal was previously regarded as a subspecies of this bird. Currently, there are two subspecies: S. versicolor versicolor northern silver teal located in Paraguay, southern Bolivia, and southern Brazil. S. versicolor fretensis southern silver teal located in southern Chile, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Sebastián Fornés · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Garganey and Silver Teal.