Morphological, hematological, biochemical characteristics, and food preferences of common teal (Anas crecca) during the wintering period in Punjab, Pakistan
Keywords:
Sexual dimorphism; migratory waterfowl; wintering birds; avian physiology; wetland ecology; blood profileAbstract
Objective: The study aims to investigate sexual dimorphism in common teal (Anas crecca) by comparing various morphological, hematological, and biochemical parameters between males and females. Materials and Methods: 27 freshly captured wintering teals were collected from hunters holding valid shooting licenses and were subjected to hematological, biochemical, and food preference analysis following all relevant ethical guidelines for animal research. Results: Several morphological traits showed significant sexual dimorphism, including body length, wingspan, primary wing length, tail length, beak length, and head length, while body weight, tarsal and metatarsal lengths, and body circumference showed no significant differences. Hematological parameters such as red blood cells count, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and red cell distribution width-standard deviation differed significantly between sexes. Biochemical analysis revealed notable differences in urea, protein, and albumin levels. No significant difference in dietary preferences was observed between males and females. Conclusion: Morphological differences between males and females were observed except for parameters such as body weight, tarsal length, metatarsal length, and body circumference. Dietary preference was non-significant between genders. These findings would contribute to a deeper understanding of sexual dimorphism in common teal and may inform future research on migratory behavior, habitat use, and conservation strategies tailored to sex-specific ecological needs.
J. Adv. Vet. Anim. Res., 12(4): 1132–1141, December 2025
Downloads
12
15
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Shozab Seemab Khan, Tariq Javed, Muhammad Saleem Khan, Muhammad Wajid
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
