A common sighting in Southern African, the Cape Teal (Anas capensis) is a very rare vagrant to regions north of the Sahara. Thus, the observed (and photographed) Cape Teal at Is-Simar Nature Reserve, Malta, on 28 January was maybe the biggest twitcher-news of this last years January-week for the Western Palearctic. The bird was unhinged, very wary and not seen on subsequent dates.
The Cape Teal is found mostly in South Africa, where it is uncommon to locally abundant, being especially populous in the Western part of the RSA (Western Cape, North-West Province and Free State Province) The duck prefers to live in salty, brackish vleis, often with dense reeds, and is also very common in sewerage ponds. The teal feeds mainly on insects. But approx. 25% of its diet is dedicated to plant matter as well. After breeding, the chicks are immediately led by their mother to the water, as they know how to dive and swim by Continue reading Cape Teal on Malta
