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The Eurasian Teal Drinking Water from the Oily Ground

Jen-jen and Mei-mei come from frigid Siberia. Every winter they fly southwards to spend their holidays in Taiwan. The warm climate and delicious food are their favorite parts of Taiwan, not to mention the carefree water activities they can enjoy. However, they have noticed some black oil on the surface of the pond they frequently visit. This has spoiled the plumage they are so proud of. It seems that they will have to find another holiday destination.

Eurasian Teal

The Eurasian teal (Anas crecca) is a bird of the Anatidae family. It is also called the Eurasian green-winged teal.

Features

The Eurasian teal is the smallest dabbling duck. It’s about 40 centimeters long and the two sexes don’t share the same appearance. The drake’s bill is black, and its head and neck are chestnut. There is a wide green patch in a half-moon-shape around the eyes. The patch is bordered with thin yellow-white lines. Its plumage appears grey with thin and dense blackish wavy lines. The breast is buff with small round brown spots. The belly is greyish white and the tail covert feathers are black with a bright yellowish-buff triangular patch. The speculum feathers are green with white tips. The drakes have wider tips. The hen has greyish black bills with dark eye-stripes. Its plumage is brown with the tips of the feathers light brown, forming wavy lines. The mid-belly is whitish while its speculum is green with white tips.
Habitat

The Eurasian teal inhabits wetlands of open and slowly flowing water, including lakes, farm ponds, slowly flowing areas of rivers, paddies and swamps.
Distribution

It is widely distributed north of the equator, and its breeding habitat is in the high latitude zones of North America, Europe and Asia. It winters in northern tropical areas. During the spring and autumn transit period, the Eurasian teal can be seen to linger at wetlands in the Northern Hemisphere.
Habits

Outside of breeding season, the Eurasian teal can form large flocks, even with other dabbling ducks. In September, before it heads down south, the drake changes to its winter plumage (non-nuptial plumage). In December, it changes back into its summer plumage (nuptial plumage) and starts to court and pair. A paired drake has to stay alert to prevent his hen being taken by other drakes. Unpaired drakes have to keep looking and circle the hens and dance to court. They mate in February and March, before they migrate to the north. The hens fly with their eggs forming inside their bodies. Once they arrive at their breeding grounds, they occupy a spot and build their nest. During the short summers of the polar region, they have to finish the whole process of hatching, brooding, fledging and then migrating southwards.
Diet

The Eurasian teal is omnivorous. They filter feed on benthic organisms, insects, and gastropods, and also eat grass seeds, grain, water plants, and algae.

困於油污的野鳥。出自 Igor GOLUBENKOV (NGO: Saving Taman)。

Extended Reading

Industrial mining and manufacturing discharge toxic heavy metal particles and chemicals that are difficult to break down. Agricultural pesticides and fertilizers get into the water and rapidly kill water organisms, which leads to the water being unrecoverable.

The extensive use of pesticides has caused significant pollution to the earth’s water systems. A great number of birds have been poisoned, become infertile, and even died.

Besides these industrial and agricultural contaminants, another issue is the water people use in everyday life, such as when showering, washing dishes and flushing toilets. Even though the wastewater these activities generate is not necessarily toxic, with an increasing global population, the amount of wastewater is on the rise. Specifically, increases in nitrogen and phosphorus, which are usually nutritious for plants, has caused the algae in water to reproduce quickly and therefore absorb more oxygen. As the algae and other organisms die and are broken down by microorganisms, more oxygen is consumed. This invariably ends with a lack of oxygen in the water.

Ocean pollution, such as when ships leak oil, also affects the ocean ecosystem and marine industry. According to an article in “Scientific American,” the toxic compounds found in crude vary everywhere. The most problematic are the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which include benzene, toluene, and xylene. PAH in crude oil does not dissolve in water and causes great damage to marine ecosystems.

70% of the earth is composed of water, and the same percentage is found in our bodies. How we treat our environment is a reflection of how we treat ourselves.