---
title: "Blue-billed Teal"
description: "Spatula hottentota — Birds. The blue-billed teal (Spatula hottentota), also sometimes called spotted teal and formerly Hottentot teal, is a species of dabbling duck of the genus Spatula."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/blue-billed-teal
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Blue-billed Teal

> Spatula hottentota — Birds. The blue-billed teal (Spatula hottentota), also sometimes called spotted teal and formerly Hottentot teal, is a species of dabbling duck of the genus Spatula.

- Scientific name: *Spatula hottentota*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 1204
- Wikidata: [Q28106807](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28106807)
- iNaturalist taxon: [558430](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/558430)

## Names

- en: Blue-billed Teal
- de: Pünktchenente
- es: Cerceta hotentote
- fr: Sarcelle hottentote

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (594), TZ (141), KE (114), BW (64), MG (47), NA (42), ET (26), ZW (24), ZM (20), MW (14), MZ (8), UG (8)

## Summary

The blue-billed teal (Spatula hottentota), also sometimes called spotted teal and formerly Hottentot teal, is a species of dabbling duck of the genus Spatula. It is resident in eastern, southern, and western Africa, from Sudan and Ethiopia west to Niger and Nigeria, and south to South Africa and Namibia, and also in Madagascar. It is generally sedentary, but shows nomadic behaviour in response to water requirements, moving away if drought causes wetlands to dry out.
The blue-billed teal breeds year round, depending on rainfall, and stays in small groups or pairs. They build nests above water in tree stumps and use…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-billed_teal

## Photo

![Blue-billed Teal](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/blue-billed-teal/medium.jpg)

Photo: Лариса Артемьева · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/252029174

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/blue-billed-teal?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).