Gadwall 39 



Tresz 82, p. 245; Beckham 85, p. 144; W. G. Smith 87, p. 169; 

 Morrison 88, p. 140; 89, p. 148; Kellogg 90, p. 86; Cooke 97, pp. 18, 

 53, 156, 194 ; 06, p. 27; Henderson 03, p. 234; 09, p. 225; Rockwell 

 08, p. 157 ; Warren 09, p. 13. 



Description. — Male— General colour including the head, which bears 

 a low crest, neck, upper -back, scapulars and sides brown, speckled 

 and undulated with greyish -white ; lower back plain brown, becoming 

 black on the rump and upper tail-coverts ; belly white with sharply 

 defined velvety black on the abdomen and lower tail-coverts ; wing 

 with a patch of chestnut, velvety black, and white ; iris reddish -brown, 

 bill black, legs dull orange. Length 20-0 ; wing 11-0 ; tail 3-5 ; culmen 

 1-75 ; tarsus 1-7. 



The female is smaller — wing 10-0, and brown throughout except 

 on the lower breast and abdomen> which are white and everywhere 

 speckled or variegated with buffy -brown ; the patches of chestnut, 

 black and white on the wing are rather smaller. The young male 

 is lilce the female. 



Distribution. — One of the most widely spread of Ducks, found through- 

 out EuroiDe, Asia and North America, and wintering south in Africa 

 and southern Asia. In America its breeding range extends from 

 Hudson Bay and southern British Columbia, south to southern Colorado 

 and most of California. In winter it resorts chiefly to the southern 

 states and the lower Mississippi Valley, and to Jlexico as far as 

 Mexico City. 



In Colorado the Gadwall is a fairly common summer resident and 

 quite common on migration, but has been noticed only, so far as I can 

 ascertain, at Barr in winter. It arrives from the south early and has 

 been noted at Fort Lyon on March 1st and at Love land from March 

 1st to 12th ; it is not so common apparently on the western slope and 

 was only once seen by Sullivan — on the Gunnison River, March 28th 

 (Rockwell), while at Coventry it has been seen in April (Warren). 

 Breeding records are — Ba?r Lake (Hersey & Rockwell), Estes Park 

 (Kellogg), Middle Park, Carter (Cooke), South Park (Tresz), San Luis 

 Lakes (Aiken & Henshaw), La Plata co. (Morrison), and Calhan 

 El Paso CO. June (Aiken). 



Habits, — The Gadwall resembles the Mallard in habits ; 

 it is essentially a fresh-water Duck, preferring secluded 

 marshy ponds and reedy streams to large open pieces 

 of water. It feeds largely on vegetable matter, water- 

 weeds, grass, roots and often grain, as well as on insects^ 

 tadpoles, etc., and it is as well - flavoured as the 

 Mallard. 



