Green-winged Teal
Dabbling ducks (tribe Anatini) are surface-feeding waterfowl that capture food by tipping forward—often upending—with their tails in the air to reach aquatic vegetation, seeds, and small invertebrates just below the water’s surface. In Arizona, they are among the most numerous waterfowl, especially during fall and winter migration.
Key Species in Arizona
Arizona regularly hosts at eleven dabbling-duck species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Mexican Duck
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)
American Wigeon (Mareca americana)
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)
Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera)
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
Northern Shoveler
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Additional occasional visitor Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope).
Habitat & Seasonal Patterns
These ducks concentrate in Arizona’s marshes, lakes, rivers, stock ponds, and flooded agricultural fields. Peak numbers occur from November through March, when migrants from the north stage at key wetland refuges such as Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, Willcox Playa, and Whitewater Draw. A few species—most notably Cinnamon Teal—also breed in suitable high-elevation marshes of the Sky Islands and riparian corridors along the Colorado River.