Cape Teal
Anas capensis
A small, speckled gray African duck with a pink bill that can dive and swim underwater with its wings folded.
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About the Cape Teal
Cape teals are about 14 inches long and weigh 11 to 18 ounces. They have pale, speckled gray feathers, a pink bill and reddish eyes. They live around shallow salty lakes, pools, rivers, flooded wetlands, coasts and lagoons across much of Africa. They eat pondweed stems, leaves and seeds, plus water insects, crustaceans and tadpoles.[1]
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Anas capensis[1]
- Size
- About 14 inches long.[1]
- Weight
- 11 to 18 ounces.[1]
- Diet
- Omnivore. Pondweed, water insects, crustaceans and tadpoles.[1]
- Habitat
- Shallow salty lakes and pools, rivers, wetlands, coasts and lagoons.[1]
- Where it lives
- Much of eastern and southern Africa, from Chad and Ethiopia to South Africa.[1]
- Babies
- 7 or 8 eggs, incubated 25 to 26 days.[1]
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2016).[2]
Fun facts
Vocabulary
- dabbling duck
- A duck that feeds at the water's surface instead of diving.
- brackish
- A little bit salty, like where a river meets the sea.
- filter feeding
- Straining tiny bits of food out of water.
- teal
- A kind of small duck.
- least concern
- A conservation label meaning a species is widespread and not at risk of dying out soon.
See it in person
- Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and AquariumOmaha, Nebraska · Hubbard Gorilla ValleySee this area on the zoo's website ↗
Sources
- [1] SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. “Cape Teal.” https://seaworld.org/animals/facts/birds/cape-teal/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
- [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Anas capensis (Cape Teal).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22680145/92846056 (accessed 2026-10-02)
Facts last checked 2026-10-02.
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Blue-Winged TealSpatula discorsA small dabbling duck that flies from North America as far as South America each fall, flashing a powder-blue wing patch.Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiacaA brown African waterbird with dark eye patches that grazes near rivers and lakes and has spread to parts of Europe.Ringed TealCallonetta leucophrysOne of the world's smallest ducks, a tree-perching duck of South American wetlands that nests in tree holes.Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensisA small diving duck of the Americas with a bright blue bill, whose males drum their bills to make bubbles when courting.Southern ScreamerChauna torquataA South American wetland bird, also called the crested screamer, whose call carries up to 3 km and whose wings have sharp spurs.Spur-Winged GoosePlectropterus gambensisAfrica's largest waterfowl, a black-and-white goose with a sharp spur on each wing and a diet that can make it poisonous.Swan GooseAnser cygnoidesAn endangered long-necked goose of eastern Asia that migrates thousands of kilometers and is the ancestor of the Chinese domestic goose.White-Faced Whistling DuckDendrocygna viduataA long-necked duck of Africa and South America with a white face that whistles instead of quacking and often perches in trees.