LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN WILD FOWI,. 103 



Mr. George M. Sutton has sent me the following interesting notes 

 on the courtship of the green-winged teal : 



Suddenly, and apparently without any premeditation, two of the malos started 

 toward the center of the pond, one directly behind the other; the two birds in ridic- 

 ulously similar attitudes, both witli bills pointinc: somewhat upward, and head drawn 

 back and down in a stiff and uncomfortable looking manner. Strange as it may seem , 

 80 similar were the birds in their every movement, that the feet, in swimming , 

 Beamed to stroke in perfect harmony, and the picture presented was one of unusual 

 beauty. They swam deliberately, anil in a direct line until they reached the center 

 of the pond. It was not evident until now that a female bird had anything to do 

 witli the matter; but a sudden change in the attitude of the approaching males in- 

 formed the observer that a very restless and inattentive female was the cause of the 

 whole perfoi-mance. Both males, still in perfect harmony of movement, wore describ - 

 ing a circle about the female, swimming about 2 feet from each other, and at a 

 tantalizingly deliberate speed. I could not help feeling that the atmosphere was 

 growing tense, because the males seemed to be faii'ly quivering in their effort 

 to curb spirit. The female, which had thus far been utterly unobservant, now 

 became rather quiet and attentive, and the males, still in perfect accord, began a re- 

 markable series of bobbings, opening their bills rather widely, and uttering a soft, 

 not unmusical pheep, pheep, one call to every movement of the head. The call was 

 given on the forward thrust of the head, and as the two beautiful birds wheeled about, 

 in a circle possibly only 6 feet in diameter, it was only natural to call to mind two 

 little boats emitting whistles at regular intervals, and indulging in quaint maneuvers, 

 80 totally unducklike the creatures seemed. Matters were even more complicated 

 when it became evident that the males were now churning the v/ater lustily with 

 their feet, though their speed remained about the same. Again suddenly, the har- 

 mony of movement ceased; the female rushed at one savagely and seemingly without 

 warrant, whereupon he, the favored one, stood up in the water, lifted his wings some- 

 what, and with rapidly churning feet made a most unusual noise, sounding like water 

 thrown rapidly at some object in a fine stream, which in some manner, inexplainable 

 thus far, must have been connected with a stream of water which seemed to pass from 

 the bill to the rapidly treading feet. I could not get close enough to see clearly, and 

 had no glasses, so the details of this very odd antic I have never been able to explain, 

 but there seemed to be a fine stream of water shot out of the bird's bill, accompanied 

 by the queer sound mentioned above. The sound was of a startling quality, and 

 directly after its delivery the bird's feet quit their violent churning motion, and the 

 bird sank to rest for a time. The other male, which had ceased operations for a 

 momentary preening of feathers, would then "occupy the floor ' ' and repeat the antic. 

 Occasionally both males would do the scunt exactly at the same time. During the 

 period of their greatest activity this act of standing in the water and treading waa 

 repeated about every 20 seconds. The part played by the female in these odd dra- 

 matics, was as far at least as the observer could see, a minor one. She was followed 

 continually, but she did not follow in return. Her attitude was one of inattentiveneaa, 

 save when one of the males came too near, or strange to say, on one occasion, when 

 the performers lagged in their enthusiasm. At this time (observed only once) she 

 tore madly across the pond and back again, in a manner indescribably nimble, past 

 the males, whence her couriers in steamboat formation, with the accompaniment of 

 pheep, pheep, followed her. 



The attitude of the males toward each other was one of dignified tolerance while 

 the female was at hand. They apparently vied \igorously in matters of elegance of 

 movement, but there was no sign of combat. Once, when the female rushed at the 

 male, he surprised me by giving her a \aciou8 jab in return, which seemed to subdue 

 her for the time. 



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