Chandigarh Birdwatch: Winter visitor with a ‘tealtale’ eyepatch

Teals are classified as species of “least concern” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.

The Common Teal is a native of Europe. The ones that migrate breed in Russia. When the weather turns cold and food becomes scarce, they fly over the Himalayas in the East and the Caucasus in the West to spend their ‘winter vacations’ on the Mediterranean coast, India, coastal China and the French Indo-China region.

The male common teal is easily recognised by an eyepatch of a distinctive colour, which gives it its name. It also has a similar coloured patch where the wing meets the tail. It is the smallest of all dabbling ducks, growing up to 17 inches in size. The female teal is rather drab, with no distinctive eye or wing patches. Both male and female have greyish feet and black beaks.