Lake Duck vs Blue-billed Teal
Oxyura vittata compared with Spatula hottentota
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Lake Duck | Blue-billed Teal |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Oxyura vittata | Spatula hottentota |
| Order | Anseriformes | Anseriformes |
| Family | Anatidae | Anatidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 27.6 cm (10.9 in) | 29.4 cm (11.6 in) |
| Weight | 665.0 g (23.46 oz) | 269.2 g (9.50 oz) |
| Diet | Dives for aquatic invertebrates and plant seeds in South American freshwater lakes and marshes. Feeds … | Feeds on seeds, aquatic plants, and invertebrates; filter-feeds in shallow water; broadly omnivorous and seasonally … |
| Clutch Size | 3-5 | 5-12 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Blue-billed Teal
Freshwater lakes, marshes, pans, and flooded grasslands across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and Sudan south to the Cape. Nomadic; follows seasonal rains. Common but easily overlooked among reed beds.
Song & Call Comparison
Lake Duck
Male produces a mechanical, drumming staccato call; female gives a soft, nasal quack. Drumming display resembles other Oxyura stiff-tails; heard at dawn on Andean and Patagonian lakes.
Blue-billed Teal
Male utters a soft, teal-like peep; female gives a muted quack. Pairs call quietly in dense papyrus; soft contact calls help birds maintain proximity in thick African marsh vegetation.
Geographic Range & Migration
Lake Duck
Resident in southern South America from central Chile and central Argentina south to Tierra del Fuego. Found on lowland lakes and lagoons.
Blue-billed Teal
Breeds in Arctic and subarctic Eurasia; winters at sea in the North Atlantic and from western Europe to eastern Africa.
Conservation Status
Lake Duck
Blue-billed Teal
How to Tell Them Apart
Lake Duck
Male is dark chestnut-brown with black head, pale whitish-grey cheeks, and cobalt-blue bill. Female is brownish-buff with streaked upperparts and a distinctive pale supercilium; undertail coverts whitish.
Blue-billed Teal
Small; males have pale blue-gray bill contrasting with brown-gray body. Head finely spotted; underparts barred brown and white. Males show powder-blue forewing in flight. Females browner. African marsh species.
About These Birds
Lake Duck
A stiff-tailed duck (~665 g) of southern South America, family Anatidae, with males displaying ruddy plumage and a bright blue bill. Inhabits freshwater lakes, ponds, and marshes from Brazil to Patagonia. Dives for aquatic plants, seeds, and invertebrates. Least Concern; notable for the proportionally longest penis of any vertebrate relative to body size.
Blue-billed Teal
A small dark teal with blue-grey bill and legs, brown-streaked plumage, and fine pale spotting on the flanks. The most widespread teal in sub-Saharan Africa. Found on freshwater lakes and marshes. Highly nomadic; follows seasonal rainfall. Swims low in the water like a pochard.