Flightless Teal

The Auckland Islands Teal is smaller and raker than the Brown Teal of the main islands of New Zealand, a species with which it was once considered conspecific. The plumage is all over brown with a hint of green on the neck and a conspicuous white eyering. The female is slightly darker than the male. The wings are very small and the species has, like the related Campbell Island Teal, lost the power of flight.

The Flightless Teal is classified as Vulnerable (VU), considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

lands Flightless Teal was reviewed by Scott (1971), but little else has been published about it in spite of several major expeditions to the islands (Taylor 1971). The general morphology of this drab, reddish brown duck was described by Phillips (1923: 89) and Delacour (1956: 84). Plumages vary individually, but most mature males have greenish iridescence on the head and a reddish breast similar to New Zealand Brown Teal (Anas aucklandica chlorotis) or the more brightly colored Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea) of Australia. More

(Aukland Islands) Flightless Teal - Photo courtesy of the Handbook of the Birds of the World(Aukland Islands) Flightless Teal Courtesy of the Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 1, Ostrich to Ducks, edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal, Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ... More

flightless teal and mountain ducks being sent to Warrawong Sanctuary and some flightless black ducks going to known good homes. The Rescue - Yesterday's duck shoot was the smallest this year More

return of a flightless teal duck and a species of wading bird found only on the island. A small population of Campbell Island teal has been preserved in captivity while Campbell Island snipes were discovered still surviving on a nearby islet free of rodents. "This newly discovered bird was found on a tiny rock stack on the coast of Campbell Island in 1997," Conservation Minister Sandra Lee said in a statement. More