This African duck has a grey body and a reddish bill. It moves in response to changes in rainfall and water levels, and feeds on small aquatic animals and plants in shallow waters.
The body is grey, the back is brown, and the bill is reddish pink.
South Africa’s Wilderness Lakes Complex is a wetland network of lakes and estuaries linked by shallow channels; it includes the Wilderness Ramsar site. Boat counts followed a standard route twice yearly from 1992 to 2019, alongside 1980s records. The wetlands support 68 waterbird species, eight of which periodically reached globally significant numbers. The complex includes the Touw and Swartvlei systems.
Cape Teal abundance declined across the complex in both summer and winter, with the decrease especially prominent after 2015. Counts distinguished individual waterbodies: Cape Teal was never recorded during regular surveys at Touw Estuary, separating that local record from the trend across the larger wetland system.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Counts from 1992–2019 in the Wilderness Lakes Complex, which includes the Wilderness Ramsar site, showed long-term declines in Cape Teal abundance in both summer and winter. Repeated wetland bird surveys document local change in water and shoreline habitats.