Baikal Teal

About the Baikal Teal

The Baikal teal (Sibirionetta formosa), also called the bimaculate duck or squawk duck, is a dabbling duck that breeds in eastern Russia and winters in East Asia. The first formal description of the Baikal teal was by the German naturalist Johann Gottlieb Georgi in 1775 under the binomial name Anas formosa. A molecular phylogentic study published in 2009 found that the genus Anas as then defined was non-monophyletic. Based on this analysis the genus was split into four proposed genera with the Baikal teal placed in the resurrected genus Sibirionetta that had been introduced by the German zoologist Hans von Boetticher in 1929. The name Sibirionetta is derived from the Latin sibiricus for Siberia and the Ancient Greek nētta for a duck. The specific epithet formosa is from the Latin formosus for "beautiful".

The Baikal teal has a height of 30–40 cm (11.75–15.75 in), and a weighs an average of 500 g (1 lb). At a length between 39–43 cm (15–17 in), this duck is slightly larger and longer-tailed than the common teal. The breeding male is unmistakable, with a striking green nape, yellow and black auriculars, neck, and throat. It has a dark crown, and its breast... Wikipedia →