Baikal Teal
One of the most exotic looking members of the teal family, the Baikal drake is a striking bird. His head is a Harlequin pattern of green and yellow separated by an elaborate scroll work of black and white lines. The breast is a warm buff, the flanks gray, and the back a cascade of plumes in buff and brown. The female looks rather similar to a greenwing hen, but is more brown in color and has a distinct white spot at the base of the bill. It is noteworthy to mention that hybrids have been documented between Greenwing and Baikal teal, thus these two species should be kept separate.
Native to China and breeding in central and eastern Siberia, this bird is easily kept in captivity, however in a lot of cases is not easily bred. While the Baikal is a calm bird and will get along well with others, I prefer to keep mine separate from other species, thus giving them less disturbances during the breeding season. They seem to prefer natural cover for nesting, my birds have not shown any interest in several different styles of nesting boxes. and eggs are normally laid in tall grass. The breeding season is in Spring and begins in May in my region. Clutches consist of 6 to 8 eggs and are incubated for about 25 days. The ducklings are not difficult to raise.