Blue-winged Teal in Flight

From USFWS_Migratory Birds:

Counting down to the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest, which starts this Friday! (Learn more:http://go.usa.gov/3eb7d) We're profiling the eligible species for the contest, beginning with the Blue-winged Teal. Tiny and abundant, Blue-winged Teal are long-distance flyers; some migrate all the way to South America for the winter. They are among the latest ducks to migrate northward in the spring and one of the first to migrate southward in the fall. The North American Prairie Pothole Region is the heart of the Blue-winged Teal’s breeding range. Males in breeding plumage have brown bodies with dark speckling on the breast, slate-blue head, a white crescent behind the bill, and a small white patch in front of their black rear. Females are a patterned brown and in flight, they reveal a bold powder-blue patch on their covert feathers.

Blue-winged Teal in flight/USFWS