The Blue-winged Teal, Anas discors, is a very small dabbling duck ubiquitous in wetlands, prairie potholes, and shallow ponds across Canada from late spring to early fall. he second most common duck in North America at the turn of the century, the Blue-winged Teal is a long-distance migrant that travels from its North America breeding grounds to overwintering sites as far as South America. This long flight makes it one of the last duck species to arrive in Canada in spring and among the first to leave in autumn.
This mottled brown duck bears a distinctive bright blue patch edged in white and green bands on its forewing. It nests at the marshy edges ofshallow waterways, dining on water insects, crustaceans, and water vegetation. The female uses her feet to dig a well-sheltered ground nestwhere she will lay about 10 eggs. The female will separate from her young once they are able to fly. She, like the male of the species, will then undergo a flightless moult before joining her kind in their early migration south.
