Spectacled Eider vs Blue-billed Teal
Somateria fischeri compared with Spatula hottentota
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Spectacled Eider | Blue-billed Teal |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Somateria fischeri | Spatula hottentota |
| Order | Anseriformes | Anseriformes |
| Family | Anatidae | Anatidae |
| Conservation Status | Near Threatened | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 49.2 cm (19.4 in) | 29.4 cm (11.6 in) |
| Weight | 1443.75 g (50.93 oz) | 269.2 g (9.50 oz) |
| Diet | Dives for bivalves, crustaceans, and aquatic insects in shallow Arctic coastal and freshwater habitats. Insects … | Feeds on seeds, aquatic plants, and invertebrates; filter-feeds in shallow water; broadly omnivorous and seasonally … |
| Clutch Size | 1-9 | 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
Spectacled Eider
Male gives a low, melodious aah-ooo cooing; female produces a guttural, grunting call. The male's ghostly, organ-like cooing call carries across Arctic tundra ponds in the breeding season.
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
Spectacled Eider
Breeds on coastal tundra of western and northern Alaska. Winters along the Bering Sea coast from Alaska to Kamchatka. Largely sedentary.
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
Spectacled Eider
Blue-billed Teal
How to Tell Them Apart
Spectacled Eider
Male has white back and black breast with pale sage-green head framed by large white goggle-like spectacles edged black. Female mottled tawny-brown with faint spectacle outline.
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
Spectacled Eider
A medium-large sea duck of the family Anatidae, weighing ~1.4 kg with distinctive pale green goggles in males. Breeds on Arctic tundra of Alaska and Russia; winters in pack ice of the Bering Sea. Dives for benthic invertebrates and mollusks. Near Threatened due to population declines linked to lead poisoning and habitat change.
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.