PAKHI DEKHOON PAKHI CHINOON..[Observe the bird and recognize]... EURASIAN/COMMON TEAL

PAKHI DEKHOON PAKHI CHINOON@693..[Observe the bird and recognize]... EURASIAN/COMMON TEAL... A4.. WATER COLOUR.. [From the ref. photograph of Mr. Rishiraj Singh Deval] ... The Eurasian teal or common teal (Anas crecca) is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurasia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range.[2] The bird gives its name to the blue-green colour teal.
The Eurasian teal is the smallest extant dabbling duck at 20–30 cm (7.9–11.8 in) length and with an average weight of 340 g (12 oz) in drake (males) and 320 g (11 oz) in hens (females). The wings are 17.5–20.4 cm (6.9–8.0 in) long, yielding a wingspan of 53–59 cm (21–23 in). The bill measures 3.2–4 cm (1.3–1.6 in) in length, and the tarsus 2.8–3.4 cm (1.1–1.3 in).
From a distance, the drakes in nuptial plumage appear grey, with a dark head, a yellowish behind, and a white stripe running along the flanks. Their head and upper neck is chestnut, with a wide and iridescent dark green patch of half-moon- or teardrop-shape that starts immediately before the eye and arcs to the upper hindneck. The patch is bordered with thin yellowish-white lines, and a single line of that colour extends from the patch's forward end, curving along the base of the bill. The breast is buff with small round brown spots. The center of the belly is white, and the rest of the body plumage is mostly white with thin and dense blackish vermiculations, appearing medium grey even at a short distance. The outer scapular feathers are white, with a black border to the outer vanes, and form the white side-stripe when the bird is in resting position.
The Eurasian teal usually feeds by dabbling, upending or grazing; it may submerge its head and on occasion even dive to reach food. In the breeding season it eats mainly aquatic invertebrates, such as crustaceans, insects and theirlarvae, molluscs and worms. In winter, it shifts to a largely granivorous diet, feeding on seeds of aquatic plants andgrasses, including sedges and grains. [info:wikipedia]