Red-billed Teal ( Anas erythrorhyncha, family: Anatidae)

red billed teal Kruger National Park birds The Red-billed Teal (Latin name Anas erythrorhyncha) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 108 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 111 also a picture of the Red-billed Teal on page 96. The Red-billed Teal belongs to the family of birds classified as Anatidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Red-billed Teal is also known by these other names: Redbill, Red-billed Duck, Red-billed Pintail.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Red-billed Teal is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Red-billed Teal in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Red-billed Teal : see above distribution map.

The Red-billed Teal.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

The Red-billed Teal is a bird about the size of a grey hornbill. The height of the Red-billed Teal is about 48 cms and its weight is about 595 gms

You will find that the male Red-billed Teal plumage and colours are different to that of the female Red-billed Teal

  • Head is brown.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is pink.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is brown.
  • Legs are grey.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Red-billed Teal feeds in or around water mainly

Invertebrates

Seeds

Aquatic life forms

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Red-billed Teal is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Anas erythrorhyncha will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Red-billed Teal is to create the nest on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are cream in colour and number between 5 to 12

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Red-billed Teal are: wetlands and riverine areas

You will normally see the Red-billed Teal in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... iDada

Afrikaans ...Rooibekeend

German ... Rotschnabelente

Portuguese ... Marreco-de-bico-vermelho

French ... Canard bec rouge

Dutch ... Roodbekpijlstaart

First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list

For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 108

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za