The falcated duck or falcated teal is a gadwall-sized dabbling duck from the east Palearctic.
Region
East Asia and East Palearctic
Typical Environment
Breeds across southeastern Siberia, the Amur–Ussuri basin, northeastern China, and locally in Mongolia around forest-steppe wetlands, lakes, and slow rivers. Winters mainly in eastern China, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan, with smaller numbers reaching northern Vietnam and parts of South Asia. It favors shallow freshwater wetlands, flooded meadows, rice paddies, and sluggish river margins. Vagrants are recorded in western Europe and North America, typically in winter. Habitat quality and water levels strongly influence local distribution.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
Named for the male’s falcate (sickle-shaped) tertial feathers that drape over the back, the falcated duck is a striking dabbling duck of the East Palearctic. It was formerly placed in Anas but is now in the genus Mareca alongside wigeon and gadwall. It winters in large flocks and is a rare but regular vagrant to Europe and North America.
A falcated duck, a rare vagrant from Asia, that arrived at California's Colusa National Wildlife Refuge in December 2011
Male falcated duck
Eggs of falcated duck
Temperament
wary yet social
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile, low flights over water
Social Behavior
Pairs form on the wintering grounds or early in spring. Nests are built on the ground in dense vegetation near water; the female incubates while the male departs after incubation begins. Outside the breeding season they gather in sizable flocks, often mixing with other dabbling ducks.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Drakes give clear, whistled notes and soft wheezy calls, especially during display. Females produce lower, rasping quacks used to communicate with the brood.
Plumage
Male shows finely vermiculated gray body, iridescent green head with bronzy crown, narrow white neck collar, and long sickle-shaped tertials that curve over the rump. Female is mottled brown with a subtly scaled pattern, pale face markings, and a greenish speculum edged with white. Both sexes have a glossy green speculum visible in flight.
Diet
Primarily consumes seeds and vegetative parts of aquatic plants such as pondweeds, smartweeds, and grasses, supplemented by grains gleaned from rice fields. It also takes aquatic invertebrates, including insects, crustaceans, and small mollusks, especially in the breeding season. Dabbling and upending are the main foraging methods, with occasional grazing along shorelines.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in shallow freshwater marshes, flooded fields, oxbows, and the vegetated margins of lakes and slow rivers. Rice paddies and temporarily inundated meadows are used extensively on migration and in winter.
