The crackling teal belongs to one of the smallest duck varieties. This bird usually eschews people, so studying its habits and lifestyle in natural conditions is not easy for scientists. However, some data was still collected.
While observing the crackling teal, we managed to establish his favorite habitats, what he eats, how he builds nests and raises offspring. If you'd like to learn more about this mysterious feathered creature that you'll likely never encounter in real life, read this article in full.
Appearance
A medium teal weighs only 300-400 g, and its body length usually does not exceed 40 cm.. The female has the same color all year round: her feathers create brown-beige ripples. Both sexes of crackling teals have a gray beak and legs.
The head and neck of the male are covered with brown feathers, the belly and undertail are white with darkinterspersed, and the upper body is gray-brown. Interestingly, during the mating season, the feathers above the eyes of the male turn white, forming a crescent shape. On the wings during the span, gray-blue mirrors with a white border are clearly visible. Young teal codfish are almost indistinguishable from females.
Habitat
Teal-codfish can be found on the territory of Europe and Asia, which lies in temperate latitudes. However, they winter, gathering in large flocks in India, Australia, Indochina, the southern part of the African continent and the Mediterranean countries.
Teal cracker loves to settle near the water. The best place for it is a small open reservoir, surrounded by dense vegetation, not far from which there is a meadow. Sometimes a bird can nest far from the river, but it will definitely not choose mountainous or forested areas.
Food and habits
The basis of the diet of the teal-codfish is food of animal origin. Usually these are mollusks, worms, crustaceans, fish fry and caviar, leeches, insects and their larvae. The teal can supplement its diet with rice, sorrel, sedge and various seeds. He has to do this when the molting period comes and he cannot fly.
Teal flies to nesting grounds from warm areas (flight photo is presented at the end of the article) later than other relatives, and flies away for wintering before anyone else. Its flight is usually quiet and agile. The female teal cod is usually silent and only occasionally makes a quack. But the male fully justifies its name- He often makes an inimitable crack. Some compare the sound of a crackling teal to the sound of running your fingers over the teeth of a plastic comb.
Mating season
Like almost every other duck, the crackling teal reaches sexual maturity already in the first year of life, but returns to nesting only in the second year. Depending on the habitat, different flocks of teals arrive for nesting from late March to May. They immediately pair up and begin their mating games.
The drake swims around the female with its beak lowered into the water, sharply throws back its head, tilts it to one side or shakes it. It fluffs up its feathers and can demonstrate its wingspan by rising slightly above the water. All this is accompanied by a typical loud crackle emitted by the male. The female also behaves unusually during this period: she twitches her head, cleans her feathers from behind and quietly quacks.
Nest building and incubation
Usually, in high thickets near the water, the teal makes its nest. The photo below illustrates a cozy nest created by caring feathered parents from dry grass for the expected offspring. You can distinguish the nest of the common teal by the white feathers woven around its perimeter with brown patches.
Each year, the teal cod, having created a pair, leaves behind offspring, which has an average of 8-9 individuals. The maximum laying of the female is 14 eggs. Only the female sits on the eggs, which are light or dark brown in color. hatching processtakes an average of 22-23 days. The drake at this time goes to molt. After 35-40 days, the chicks are able to fly.
Numbers
Currently, the common teal is not threatened with extinction. However, from the 70s to the 90s of the last century, a sharp decline in the population of this species was noted in the countries of the former USSR and Western Europe. The reasons for this situation include the construction of reservoirs and dams, as well as the drying up of reservoirs where the teal likes to settle.
A large number of cases have been noted behind the crackling teal, when, after being frightened off, he completely abandoned the masonry. In other cases, sensing danger, the female freezes and becomes completely invisible, which is why the clutch is often crushed. All these are the reasons why there are very few codfish in places where people live.
Captivity and hunting
In captivity, the teal-crackling is very rarely kept. They are fed seeds, corn, oats, millet or compound feed. They are thermophilic, so in winter the birds should be sheltered from the cold and drafts. In captivity, they quickly get used to people. These birds are kept for pond decoration and hunting.
Domestic teals are used as decoys when hunting wild cracked teals and whistler teals. Hearing the voice of their relatives, the teals decide that the place where it comes from is safe and fodder. Seeing and hearing their kind, they boldly move towards them, to the delight of the hunters.
The crackling teal is a small bird thatit is rarely possible to contemplate live, as she eschews people. So far, fortunately, the survival of these birds is practically not threatened. They are not of great interest to hunters, they are rarely bred in captivity, they are not affected by deforestation, and they wait out cold winters in warm climes.
