The Blue-winged Teal is 40 centimeters (16 in) long, with a wingspan of 58 centimeters (23 in), and a weight of 370 grams (13 oz). The adult male has a greyish blue head with a white facial crescent, a light brown body with a white patch near the rear and a black tail.
The adult female is mottled brown, and has a whitish area at base of bill. Both sexes have sky-blue wing coverts, a green speculum, and yellow legs. They have two molts per year and a third molt in their first year. The call of the male is a short whistle the female's call is a soft quack.
The range is all of North
America except western and northern Alaska, northern Yukon Territory, northern Northwest Territory, northeastern Canada. Blue-winged Teal are rare in the desert southwest, and the west coast. The breeding habitat of the Blue winged Teal is marshes and ponds.
They migrate in flocks to winter in to the south of its breeding range. During migration, some birds may fly long distances over open ocean. They are occasional vagrants to Europe, where their yellow legs are a distinction from other small ducks like the Common Teal and Garganey, and in recent years have been annual vagrants in Britain and Ireland