Baikal Teal

The Baikal Teal is a small East Asian dabbling duck with an exceptionally patterned breeding male. His head shows green, cream, black and buff panels divided by crisp dark lines, while the body is finely grey and chestnut. Females are mottled brown with a pale spot at the bill base and a dark eye line, resembling female Eurasian Teal but with a more strongly marked face (Wikipedia, general species account).

Baikal Teal breed in wet northern forests and tundra-edge wetlands, then migrate south to lakes, rivers, marshes and flooded farmland. They dabble for seeds, grain and aquatic invertebrates, often feeding at night. Wintering birds can form enormous, densely packed flocks. Japan supports regular passage and wintering groups, especially in productive lowland wetlands and rice-growing landscapes each year (Wikipedia, general species account).