398 WEB-FOOTED BIRDS. 



Sp. Charact. — Speculum green, bordered above with a single 

 white band ; wing coverts light blue ; quill shafts dusky ; tail of 

 14 feathers. — Male, with, the head and neck purple-green ; crown 

 black ; a white crescent each side of the head before the eye. 

 Female, with the head and neck wholly dusky. 



The Blue-Winged Teal, according to the season, inhabits 

 every part of the American continent from the plains of the 

 Saskatchewan and the 58th parallel, to Guiana and the 

 West Indies. Its breeding place, however, is to the north 

 and west ; they are particularly abundant as early as August 

 in the Territory of Michigan, and Mr. Say observed them 

 there on the 7th of June ; so that they probably breed in 

 the vicinity of the great lakes of the St. Lawrence, as well 

 as in the remote interior of the Canadian fur countries. 

 Mr. Say also observed the Blue-Winged Teal at Pembino 

 in the latitude of 49° on the 5th of August. They arrive 

 in this vicinity, and other parts of Massachusetts near to the 

 sea coast, early in September, and according to Wilson, are 

 seen soon after on the muddy shores of the Delaware, 

 where they are often observed basking or hiding in crowded 

 companies close to the edge of the water, where they can 

 only be approached under cover. They fly out with ra- 

 pidity, and when they alight, drop down suddenly among 

 the reeds in the manner of the Snipe or Woodcock. As 

 the first frosts come on, they proceed to the south, and then 

 abound in the inundated rice fields of the Southern States, 

 where great numbers are taken in traps placed on the small 

 dry eminences that here and there rise above the water, to 

 which they are decoyed with rice, and by the common con- 

 trivance called a figure four, they are taken alive in box 

 traps. In the month of April they pass through Pennsylva- 

 nia, on their way to the north, but make little stay at that 

 season ; they are seen also in the spring in the state of 

 Missouri, and spread themselves widely to breed throughout 



