Birds
Eurasian Teal
Anas crecca · Rață mică
Romania's smallest duck, common on lowland waters in the cold season; the male's chestnut head carries a green eye-patch.
At a glance
- Status in Romania
- Winter visitor
- Habitat
- Wetland
- Activity
- Morning · Daytime · Evening
- Diet
- Mainly seeds of aquatic plants and cereals, plus invertebrates.
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)
- Photography difficulty
- Moderate
Photograph this species
- Best time / activity
- Morning · Daytime · Evening
- Photography difficulty
- Moderate
- Where to look
- Lowland lakes and marshes in autumn and winter, often in compact flocks.
Photography Guide
Practical starting points based on the species’ behaviour and habitat, not fixed rules.
- Where and how to look
- Lowland lakes and marshes in autumn and winter, often in compact flocks.
- Best time / activity
- Morning · Daytime · Evening
- Behaviour to anticipate
- Explosive, near-vertical take-off when the flock is alarmed.
- Photography difficulty
- Moderate
- Starting shutter speed
- 1/2000 sec or faster for take-off and flight.
- Fieldcraft
- Teal are nervous; use shore vegetation as cover and let the flock settle.
- Ethics
- Do not feed birds to attract them, and avoid flushing resting or feeding flocks.
Identification
Small duck with strong dimorphism: the male has a chestnut head with a green eye-patch and a cream breast with black spots; the female is camouflaged grey-brown.
Habitat
Shallow water with submerged vegetation: lakes, slow rivers and marshes.
Distribution
Lowland wetlands in passage and winter; breeding is known from only two isolated sites.
Approximate range in Romania
Diet
Mainly seeds of aquatic plants and cereals, plus invertebrates.
Behaviour
Feeds in shallow water and rises almost vertically when flushed.
Seasonality in Romania
Breeds in Romania at only two known isolated locations in very small numbers; relatively common elsewhere on lowland lakes during passage and in winter.