Madagascar Teal

Western Madagascar holds the whole range of the Madagascar Teal (Anas bernieri), a mangrove and coastal-wetland specialist scattered across small, fragmented sites. Plumage is plain warm brown with faint spotting, the head slightly paler buff-brown; the bill is orange-pink, the legs orange, and the sexes are alike. Birds occupy mangroves, coastal lagoons, freshwater lakes and rivers, nesting in mangrove cavities and tree holes close to water and laying two to ten eggs. Habitat destruction and hunting have reduced the population, and the IUCN Red List classifies the species as Endangered. Recorded birds average about 365 g with a wingspan near 39 cm.