American Black Duck vs Cinnamon Teal
Anas rubripes compared with Spatula cyanoptera
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | American Black Duck | Cinnamon Teal |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Anas rubripes | Spatula cyanoptera |
| Order | Anseriformes | Anseriformes |
| Family | Anatidae | Anatidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 53.4 cm (21.0 in) | 37.5 cm (14.8 in) |
| Weight | 1211.25 g (42.73 oz) | 406.25 g (14.33 oz) |
| Diet | Eats fish and aquatic invertebrates; dives in coastal and freshwater habitats; diet shifts toward molluscs … | Eats seeds, aquatic plants, and invertebrates; dabbles in wetland shallows; broadly omnivorous diet varies with … |
| Clutch Size | 1-17 | 4-16 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
American Black Duck
Freshwater and brackish wetlands in eastern North America from Atlantic Canada south along the coast to Georgia. Breeds in northern bogs and wetlands. Winters on coastal marshes, estuaries, and freshwater lakes.
Cinnamon Teal
Freshwater and brackish marshes, ponds, and shallow lakes with emergent vegetation in western North America and wintering in Central and South America. Uses seasonal wetlands and agricultural ponds.
Song & Call Comparison
American Black Duck
Female produces a loud, deep quacking series; male gives a low, raspy grunt. Voice is deeper and huskier than a Mallard; pairs call powerfully across northeastern North American wetlands.
Cinnamon Teal
Male produces a high, whistled peep; female gives a soft quacking rattle. The male's bright whistle punctuates North American and South American wetland dawns during migration.
Geographic Range & Migration
American Black Duck
Breeds in the steppe zone of Central Asia; winters in South Asia, East Africa, and coastal Southeast Asia.
Cinnamon Teal
Breeds in Arctic Canada and Alaska; winters on sea ice and coasts of the North Atlantic and North Pacific.
Conservation Status
American Black Duck
Cinnamon Teal
How to Tell Them Apart
American Black Duck
Sooty dark brown body; head and neck paler buff with dark streaking. Iridescent purple speculum without white border. Males have yellow-green bill; females olive with orange blotches. Silvery underwings in …
Cinnamon Teal
Males striking; deep cinnamon-red head and body with dark brown back. Red eye. Pale blue forewing and green speculum. Females mottled brown with pale blue forewing. Bill spatulate. Dimorphic western …
About These Birds
American Black Duck
A large dark brown dabbling duck closely resembling a very dark female Mallard, with purple speculum, yellowish-olive bill in males, and orange legs. Common in eastern North America. Hybridizes freely with Mallard; pure populations declining in the interior.
Cinnamon Teal
A small duck. Males are brilliant all-over cinnamon-red with a bright blue-grey wing patch and red eye; females are mottled brown. Found in western North America and South America. Breeds in western United States and winters in Central America and South America.