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The Red-billed teal (Anas erythrorhyncha) is a bird found in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Botswana. Lakes and wetlands in southern and eastern Africa. It eats leaves and other plant parts, fruit and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Red-billed teal lives

Lakes and wetlands in southern and eastern Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🌿 Leaves & plants50%
• 🍎 Fruit20%
• 🌰 Seeds & nuts20%
• 🐛 Insects & bugs10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Red-billed teal

Recorded by Dries Van de Loock (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC536710. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Red-billed teal

Where does the Red-billed teal live?

The Red-billed teal lives in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Botswana. Lakes and wetlands in southern and eastern Africa.

What does the Red-billed teal eat?

leaves and other plant parts (about 50%), fruit (about 20%), seeds and nuts (about 20%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Red-billed teal endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Africa

• Black-crowned tchagra
• Natal spurfowl
• Pied starling
• Spectacled weaver
• Red-chested cuckoo
• Cape bulbul

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.