Green-winged teal

Male green-winged teal swimming beside reeds with a chestnut head and green eye patch, Manitoba

The male green-winged teal wears one of the most striking faces among ducks: a chestnut head with a glossy green swoop through the eye, a vertical white bar on the shoulder, and a finely patterned grey body. It is the smallest dabbling duck in North America, and it slips quietly along the edges of marshes, ponds, and flooded fields.

Green-winged teal feed by dabbling and sifting the shallows for seeds and aquatic insects, and they spring straight up from the water when startled. They arrive in Manitoba soon after the ice opens in spring, nest on the ground in dense cover near water, and most head south again in the fall.

Want to learn more about the green-winged teal and where it lives? Visit its page at All About Birds.

Here is one of my favourite frames of this bird, drifting along the edge of the reeds.

Green-winged teal Manitoba sightings

Where and when you can find the green-winged teal in Manitoba depends on the season and the habitat. You can see more species in the Manitoba birds section.

Map of Manitoba showing where the green-winged teal nests, with major cities and lakes
Where to look for the green-winged teal in Manitoba through the seasons: nesting in the Boreal Shield, the Taiga Shield, the Hudson Plains, the Southern Arctic, the Boreal Plains, and the Prairies (gold). Habitat regions: National Ecological Framework for Canada. Boundaries: Statistics Canada. Lakes: Natural Earth.

Back to Manitoba bird photography, or see the portfolio.

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