Common teal

    Anas crecca

Castilian: Cerceta común

Catalan: Xarset comú

Gallego: Cerceta

Euskera: Zertzeta arrunta

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Anseriformes

Family: Anatidae

Migratory status: Winter resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Vulnerable”.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

listen song

THREATS

It is very sensitive to disturbances caused by humans, in addition to the loss of habitat due to eutrofisation or changes in plant communities.

Length / size: 34-38 cm / 53-59 cm

Identification: It is the smallest of all ducks. The male stands out because of his mating plumage: the head is reddish with a white mask outlined in green, the rump is black with yellow spots on the sides, the scapular feathers are white, the speculum is bright green, the breast is cream-coloured with dark spots and the rest is generally greyish. The female is brownish and can be distinguished from the rest becuase of her green speculum.

Song: The male makes a crystalline and musical "treel" whistle, while the female only makes a nasal "peeht pat pat" quack.

Diet: It feeds on plant matter in shallow areas, sinking its head into the mud or dragging the bottom with its bill. It complements its diet with mollusks, insects and crustaceans.

Reproduction: Pairs are normally formed in spring, and it is the female that builds the nest in a hole in the ground using plant matter, and it is always near the water but hidden. The chicks leave the nest a few hours after hatching in order to look for food by themselves, together with their mother.

HABITAT

It occupies small wetlands that are rich in nutrients; they can be freshwater or saltwater, man-made or natural. In breeding season, it prefers lakes with good plant cover.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: The wintering populations are distributed thoughout the entire peninsula, although they are more abundant in the Guadalquivir marshes, the Ebro Delta, and Gallocanta Lake. During breeding season, however, they are rarer, appearing, for example, in the glacial lakes of the Cebollera and Urbión mountain ranges in La Rioja and Soria, respectively.

In Castile and León: It is distributed throughout all the provinces, most notably in the lakes of Villafáfila (Zamora), the Ebro swamp (Burgos), and La Nava lake (Palencia), among others.

Movements and migrations: Its migratory behaviour is complex, since there are sedentary populations and migratory ones, depending on the weather conditions. In December, specimens from northern Europe, Russia, and even Siberia arrive to the peninsula.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 66000 wintering specimens.

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of 3600 wintering specimens.