Duck leaves lake (4)

I believe the answer is:

teal

'duck' is the definition.
(teal is a kind of duck)

'leaves lake' is the wordplay.
'leaves' becomes 'tea' (I've seen this before).
'lake' becomes 'l'.
'tea'+'l'='TEAL'

(Other definitions for teal that I've seen before include "Small river duck" , "Dark greenish-blue colour" , "Small, short-necked duck" , "Duck - dark greenish-blue" , "Variety of duck" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian and The Globe and Mail.

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