In Colorado there are three ducks with teal for a last name, Cinnamon Teal, Blue-winged Teal, and Green-winged Teal. But, common names don’t always tell the whole story. Green-winged Teal is not a true teal but Northern Shoveler is, so the three closely related Colorado teals are, Cinnamon (see next entry) Blue-winged Teal (photograph above) and somewhat surprisingly Northern Shoveler. But, if we look at the wing of the three teals, Cinnamon, Blue-winged, and Northern Shoveler, we see that all three species have the bright blue wing panel at the leading edge of their wings and a bright green patch on the trailing edge.
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