Common Teal vs Wandering Whistling-duck
Anas crecca compared with Dendrocygna arcuata
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Common Teal | Wandering Whistling-duck |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Anas crecca | Dendrocygna arcuata |
| Order | Anseriformes | Anseriformes |
| Family | Anatidae | Anatidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 36.1 cm (14.2 in) | 37.2 cm (14.6 in) |
| Weight | 325.0 g (11.46 oz) | 779.5 g (27.50 oz) |
| Diet | Dives for molluscs, crustaceans, and aquatic invertebrates; diet dominated by hard-shelled prey in coastal and … | Eats grasses, sedges, and aquatic plants in tundra; winter diet of coastal salt marsh grasses … |
| Clutch Size | 8-11 | 6-15 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Common Teal
Breeds on boreal and subarctic freshwater marshes, lakes, and bogs across Eurasia. Winters on freshwater lakes, estuaries, rice paddies, and coastal marshes from northwest Europe and Africa east to Southeast Asia.
Wandering Whistling-duck
Tropical freshwater marshes, flooded grasslands, swamps, and lake margins from the Philippines and Indonesia through Papua New Guinea to northern and eastern Australia. Nomadic following wet season flooding.
Song & Call Comparison
Common Teal
Male gives a ringing, bell-like krick call; female produces a soft, descending quack. The male's crystalline high note is a hallmark sound of Eurasian wetlands; flocks produce a musical tinkling …
Wandering Whistling-duck
A soft whistle 'whi-whi-whi' in flight. Less vocal than other whistling-ducks; flocks tend to be quieter. Given at dawn and dusk during flight to roosting or feeding areas.
Geographic Range & Migration
Common Teal
Breeds in sub-Arctic and boreal Canada and Alaska; winters along the Pacific coast from Alaska to southern California.
Wandering Whistling-duck
Breeds in Arctic and subarctic regions; winters at sea around the Antarctic pack ice, one of the longest migrations known.
Conservation Status
Common Teal
Wandering Whistling-duck
How to Tell Them Apart
Common Teal
Males have chestnut head with iridescent green eye patch bordered cream. Gray body with horizontal white shoulder stripe. Cream and black undertail. Females mottled brown. Small and fast-flying. Iridescent green …
Wandering Whistling-duck
Rich chestnut-brown head and neck; dark brown back. Flanks rufous with pale buff streaks and dark spots. Belly blackish. Long, dark pinkish legs. Upright posture typical of whistling-ducks. Sexes similar.
About These Birds
Common Teal
A small compact dabbling duck. Males have a chestnut head with a broad metallic green eye-stripe, finely vermiculated grey body, and buff-yellow undertail coverts. The smallest regularly occurring dabbling duck in Europe. Highly migratory and one of the most abundant teal worldwide.
Wandering Whistling-duck
A medium-sized whistling-duck with rufous-brown body, dark brown back, pale buff underparts, and a chestnut collar. Found in tropical wetlands from Indonesia to Australia and Pacific islands. Highly social and nomadic. Forages by dabbling and diving in shallow freshwater.