The cinnamon teal (*Spatula cyanoptera*) is a small, strikingly colorful dabbling duck found primarily in the wetlands of western North America, from the Great Basin down through Central and South America. The breeding male is unmistakable, cloaked in rich, deep cinnamon-red plumage from head to body, with vivid red eyes, a bright blue wing patch (speculum) visible in flight, and a dark back that contrasts beautifully with its warm tones — making it one of the most vividly colored waterfowl on the continent. Females, by contrast, are a mottled brown similar to other female teal species, making them considerably harder to identify in the field. The cinnamon teal favors shallow freshwater marshes, ponds, and wetlands with emergent vegetation, where it tips and dabbles at the surface for aquatic plants, seeds, and invertebrates. It is closely related to the blue-winged teal and will occasionally hybridize with it, and like many dabbling ducks, it is a migratory species that winters in Mexico, Central America, and along the Gulf Coast before returning north to breed in the spring.
