Chestnut teal
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox
The chestnut teal (Anas castanea) is a dabbling duck found in Australia. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.Template:Clarify
TaxonomyEdit
The chestnut teal was described by the English naturalist Thomas Campbell Eyton in 1838 under the binomial name Mareca castanea.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The specific epithet castanea is from the Latin {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} for "chestnut-coloured" or "chestnut-brown".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
A large molecular phylogentic study that compared mitochondrial DNA sequences from ducks, geese and swans in the family Anatidae found that the chestnut teal is a sister species to the Sunda teal (Anas gibberifrons) that is endemic to Indonesia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
DescriptionEdit
The chestnut teal is darker and a slightly bigger bird than the grey teal.<ref name="VIC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The male has a distinctive green coloured head and mottled brown body. The female has a brown head and mottled brown body. The female is almost identical in appearance to the grey teal.
The female chestnut teal has a loud penetrating "laughing" quack repeated rapidly nine times or more.<ref name="VIC"/>
Distribution and habitatEdit
The chestnut teal is commonly distributed in south-eastern and south-western Australia, while vagrants may occur elsewhere. Tasmania and southern Victoria are the species' stronghold,<ref name="VIC"/> while vagrants have been found as far north as New Guinea and Lord Howe Island, and as far south as New Zealand.<ref name="backyards">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The chestnut teal prefers coastal estuaries and wetlands, and is indifferent to salinity. This bird is an omnivore.
BreedingEdit
Chestnut teals form monogamous pairs that stay together outside the breeding season, defend the nest site and look after the young when hatched. Nests are usually located over water, in a down-lined tree hollow about Template:Convert high. Sometimes nests are placed on the ground, among clumps of grass near water. The young hatch and are ready to swim and walk within a day.<ref name="backyards"/>