THE CINNAMON TEAL. 777 



OF more tlian sixty species of tlie AnaUdcc (Ducks, Geese and Swans) 

 found in North America, one only is peculiar to the western United States, 

 viz., the Cinnamon Teal. It is a matter of satisfaction, therefore, that our 

 western cliamijion is such a handsome fellow. vSnre]\- no more alluring 

 spectacle coiild be afforded the sptjrtsman or nature-lo\'er, than that of a tlock 

 of these brilliant chestnut-col(5red ducks when they rise suddenly from a wax- 

 side pond at Ijreak <jf day. It is as tho fragments i_)f the rich red earth, from 

 which we are all made, liad Ijeen startled by the impact of the sun's rays upon 

 the water, and were fleeing toward heaven — earth, air, fire, and water, all in 

 one burst of momentary s]»lendor. 



It is only idle folk, however, who can afford finery, and since it is the 

 drake who has nothing to do, he wears all the tine clothes. The female, sa\e 

 for her blue-gray wing-patches, is the ]jlainest-looking Ijodv imaginal)]e, and 

 she so closely resembles the female of 0. discars that we seriously wonder if 

 tlieir own mates can always distinguish them. I have seen Blue-wings and 

 Cinnamons associating together iluring the mating season, and the males 

 appeared to regard each other with jeakiusy, as tlio tliex' reallv feared con- 

 fusion of brides. 



A fax'orite pla_\' on the ])art of these Teal at mating time is leap-frog. A 

 bird will \ault into the air and pass ON^er another's head and down again with 

 a great siilash; whereu])on the (ither, as likely as not, will return the compli- 

 ment. This passage occurs oftenest between two males, and does not ajjpear to 

 have anv unfriendly uKjtive. 



So demure and unobtrusi\-e are these birds at nesting time that one is 

 likelv to luiderestimate their numbers, unless he sets about it in s\'stematic 

 fashion t(j disco\'er their nests. This mav be done best of all b\- "drairsinii" : 

 that is, by holding a li>ng roi)e at each end and sweejjing it across a weed-])atcli 

 or a liiw-lxdng meadow. Tlie bird Hies from under the ro])e in great terror, but 

 is never, in our experience, so friglitened that she will nf)t return. In this way 

 we located twent)- nests along a certain stream in Douglas Count\-. where we 

 should not have expected half that number. 



( )ur purpose was study rather than cc:illection. and the most striking fact 

 which our observation disclosed was the number and \•ariet^• of the birds' 

 enemies at nesting time. Nest after nest \\;is rifled b_\- the ])rowliug \ermin 



'& 



that housed in the ri\-er-bank. Once as I was crossing a luxuriant stretch of 

 lierbage a fi>ot or more in height, I came upcin two broken egg-shells of a 

 Cinnamon Teal. A little search disclosed the nest about six feet away and a 

 glance revealed the tragedy which had been enacted on the ])revious night. 

 Tlie grass tussock which sheltered the nest gajjed open and the dark down was 

 scattered. A befouled and broken egg bore sad testimony to the UKjrtal fright 

 of the mother bird, altho none of the remaining six were broken. A bit of 

 blood on the down showed that it was the birfl rather than the eggs the 



