SEASONAL FLIGHT OF DUCKS 187 



Idaho. There is no reason to suppose, however, 

 that a majority of these birds do not cross directly- 

 through the mountains. This southeastern mi- 

 gration seems to include many pintails, and the 

 cinnamon teal and redhead. 



Mallards seem to scatter widely from the point 

 of release. A few remain in Utah through the 

 winter, where warm springs afford them open feed- 

 ing grounds, as several banded birds were taken in 

 December and January in that state. One was 

 killed in Owens Valley, California, another in south- 

 eastern New Mexico, one near El Paso, Texas, and 

 one near Houston, Texas. These few records indi- 

 cate a wide variation in habit and a wide range for 

 this species, since some remain in the north, some 

 cross to California, and some migrate to the plains 

 regions east of the Rocky Mountains. 



Pintails banded at this point have shown a re- 

 markable distribution having been recovered 

 throughout a wide range in the west. A few have 

 lingered in Utah until December and January, 

 though few ducks of this species can find suitable 

 range so far north. Many cross to the interior val- 

 leys of California, where banded birds from Utah 

 have been taken from the marshes above Suisun 

 Bay south to the Imperial Valley near Calipatria. 

 Migration to California may take place early, as 

 one pintail, released on Bear River August 20, was 



