The Teal is the smallest of the wildfowling quarry ducks as well as probably the most aerobatic, in flight they tend to fly low and fast in wheeling and swooping movements much like waders, this makes them a most challenging quarry. If you are a clay shooter you will have probably seen "springing Teal" stands at sporting clay shoots. The term "springing Teal" is derived from its ability to perform an almost vertical take off when disturbed and they can achieve tremendous acceleration from the start, a characteristic unique to this duck species.
The drake has a sienna-red and green head with a cream "hairpin bend" line around the eye with the bend in front of the eye close to the greyish blue bill, which has a black tip. The chest is pale beige with mottled darker brown. The wing bar shows narrow in flight and is green and black with a white leading edge, the main colour being grey on the back and flanks. Cream and black under tail coverts are conspicuous at long or short distances. The female again is a dull mottled brown and has the green and black wing bar, both have grey legs.
The Teals summer grounds are in Scandanavia and northern Europe. They are resident throughout Britain and southern Europe all year round and frequent both inland and coastal areas. On salt-marshes and brackish areas the important foods are seeds of Marsh Samphire, Tassel pond weed and tiny molluscs gleaned from the mud. Inland the seeds of Spiked Rush and Creeping Buttercup supplemented with aquatic midge larvae are common dietary items.
Teal in flight (morning)