Cinnamon Teal - Anas cyanoptera

By the end of May around here a lot of the duck species have departed for their breeding grounds, but some remain in our area to breed, such as the Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall and Cinnamon Teal. We watched this male Cinnamon Teal swim toward a hen Shoveler, until the watchful male Shoveler nixed that idea. The active swimming caused a slight loss of sharpness, but the red eye still looks good.

Red eyes are seen in a variety of birds, including Grebes some songbirds. Other ducks with a bright red eye are the Canvasback and Wood Duck. Note how the black bill flares near the end a bit like that of the Northern Shoveler.

Recall that the Cinnamon Teal is one of the 3 Anas species seen here that have the pale blue wing patch (cyanoptera = "blue wing"). The others are the Blue-winged Teal and the Northern Shoveler. I suppose some would add the rarely seen Garganey, as Asian species that has wandered a few times down our coast. And a world traveler could add 3 more Shoveler species to the list.

Taxonomy - note how in a diverse Order there can be a lot of subdivisions.

Order: Anseriformes - Ducks, Geese, Swans and Screamers

Family: Anatadae - Waterfowl. 150 species, excluding the Screamers (don't ask).

Subfamily: Anatinae - True Ducks, the Geese and Swans have been dropped, as well as the Whistling-Ducks, which are more closely related to the Geese.

Tribe: Anatini - The Dabbling Ducks - 50+ species, including Wood Duck, etc.

Genus: Anas - 43 species worldwide, including 12 seen in the U.S.

Species: Anas cyanoptera - Cinnamon Teal, a fairly common breeder in Marin.

Cheers, Len