Silver Teal

The Silver Teal has a light blue beak with a yellow area at the base of the upper mandible and a black median stripe. Its blackish cap, which extends to below the eyes, contrasts with the very light (yellowish-white) sides of the head and neck. The feathers of the mantle and the scapulars are black with a whitish edge, those of the back are white with black transverse lines. The chest, flanks and bend of the wing are of an ocher color with black spots. The abdomen is greyish with fine black transverse lines. The primary remiges are of a dark brown and the mirror is of a bright green with a white bar in front and behind. The feet are grey.
Quite small in size (36-41cm), this teal shows a very little sex dimorphism. The female's plumage is duller than the male's. She has shorter tertiaries and less yellow at the base of the beak. The juvenile is still duller than the female with a brown cap and short tertiaries. The Puna Teal has formerly been considered as a subspecies of this bird. Currently, two subspecies are distinguished: A. versicolor versicolor that can be found in Paraguay, southern Bolivia and southern Brazil; A. versicolor fretensis which lives in southern Chile, Argentina and the Falkland Islands. It is distinguished by the patch at the base of the beak which is larger and of a yellow/orange color.