Good Eatin'...
The blue winged teal is considered an omnivore and will be seen eating both plant and animal foods. Their main source of food comes from aquatic vegetation, such as algae, phytoplankton, pond weed, etc., seeds, and aquatic invertebrates. This includes mollusks and crustaceans. The blue winged teal is thought to be a surface feeder that contains high vegetation concentration for them to consume.
Photograph to the left taken by Dan Jackson.
Also mentioned in the
adaptations section, ducks have to consume their food without chewing.
Once the duck as obtained the food, it goes into a portion of the stomach called
the gizzard. Inside the gizzard, the food will then be ground up by stones
called grit. After it has been ground, the nutrients are then able to be taken
up by the animal.
The Blue winged teal has a closed circulatory system, meaning that the blood stays inside vessels at all times. This is a more efficient way for nutrients and gases to get to the outer tissues in the body faster. The blue winged teal has a heart that has four chambers and two circuits, the pulmonary circuit and the systemic circuit. The pulmonary circuit brings the deoxygenated blood to the lungs and oxygenated blood from the lungs. The systemic circuit brings the oxygenated blood to the outer tissues and deoxygenated blood from the outer tissues.