Green-winged Teal
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Anas crecca carolinensis
Annual Winter Visitors from North America from September-March, 20-60 per year in Britain.
Breeds in North America & winters to Northern Central America.
From 2026, this will be classed as subspecies from Common/ British Green-winged Teal.
Male has finely barred gray flanks and back, with pale yellow under the tail at the rear end, and a white-edged green speculum, obvious in flight or at rest. It has a chestnut head with a green eye patch.
It is distinguished from drake Eurasian Teal (the Eurasian relative of this bird) by a vertical white stripe on side of breast, the lack of a horizontal white scapular stripe, and thinner or even no buff lines between the green and brown pattern on its head.