sounds like a mechanical rattle, while the female has a typical quack and a decrescendo call of only a few notes. Social behavior and reproduction The breeding behavior of the blue-billed teal is relatively undemonstrative. Based on current research, the bond of blue-billed teal does not extend beyond the female's incubation period, suggesting the bond is presumably reestablished annually. Although majority of breeding is observed in summer, this species also breed in winter, and thus courtship behavior can be seen throughout the whole year. The most common display in this species is the combination of female inciting and male turning the back of the head. Female blue-billed teal incites males by doing lateral movements silently or nearly silently, and males usually respond by swimming ahead and turning the back of the head. However, the males may respond by drinking, they raise their neck vertically and produce a soft mechanical series of call notes (burping) and they sometimes combine these two displays in a burp-drinking order. Moreover, during social display, the duck frequently perform a wing-flapping and both-wing-stretch sequence of behavior that seems to be a significant part of the display. Pre-copulatory behavior consists of mutual head pumping, and post-copulatory display by the male may vary from no perceptible activity to a swimming shake, wing flapping, or burping. The female most usually only bathes after copulation. The cluster size for this species ranges from 6 to 8 eggs with 7 being the most frequently encountered number. However, based on Clark's observation on the Witwatersrand, the ducklings in families ranges from 1 to 7 with 3 predominating. Incubation period ranges from 25 to 27 days for naturally incubated clutches. The male may remain nearby as the female incubates, but there is no indication of further male participation in brood rearing. So far as is known, the species is not multiple-brooded, although nest failure may lead to re-nesting. Status and conservation It is a least concern species on the IUCN Red List. However, habitat degradation is a threat to this species. Protecting wetland and waterside vegetation and controlling hunting will help maintain the population. References Clements, James, (2007) The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World, Cornell University Press, Ithaca IUCN (2009) BirdLife International Downloaded on 08 Jan 2009''' External links Hottentot teal at thebigzoo.com Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Distribution Map Duck External Anatomy blue-billed teal Birds