GREEN -WIN GET) TEAL 115 



Distribution in California — Abundant winter visitant throughout the 

 state, chiefly on fresh water. Summers in small numbers locally; has been 

 recorded as breeding only in Ventura County (Evermann, 1886, p. 89); at Tulare 

 Lake, Kings County (Goldman, 1908rt, p. 129); in Sierra Valley, Plumas County 

 (Belding, MS); and near Alvarado, Alameda County (Dirks, 1916, p. 46). 



The Green-winged Teal is probably the commonest and most 

 widely distributed duck in western North America, and during the 

 winter season is one of the most abundant species in the southwestern 

 United States. Along the Atlantic Coast it is now exceeded in num- 

 bers by the Blue-winged Teal, but in former years Green-wings were 

 fairly abundant there. The general breeding range of the Green- 

 wing extends from the central United States to Alaska and New- 

 foundland, but it is not common in summer south of the Canadian 

 boundary. Most of the birds nest in west-central Canada, from Mani- 

 toba to Lake Athabasca. The winter range is very extensive, reaching 

 from British Columbia and New York to Mexico and even Central 

 America. As with certain other ducks it is probable that the indi- 

 viduals of this species wintering in California breed in British 

 Columbia and Alaska. 



The Green-winged Teal is among the earliest migrant ducks to 

 arrive here in the fall and also one of the last to depart in the spring. 

 On August 12, 1905, a flock was flushed at Cushenbury Springs, San 

 Bernardino County (Grinnell, 1908, p. 53), and as early as September 

 15 it has been noted at Stockton (Belding, MS). On the Pacific slope 

 of southern California it arrives in late September or in October and 

 leaves in March (Willett, 1912a, p. 23). It occurs in greatest abun- 

 dance here during November and December, to judge from the 

 numbers to be seen in the city markets. 



This teal prefers the smaller bodies of fresh water to the larger 

 lakes and rivers. The Green-wing is the species which so often drops 

 into temporary ponds, irrigation ditches, small evanescent desert 

 pools and the innumerable little lakes that form during wet weather 

 in the hill country, and is the duck most often shot on the small 

 meadow ponds of the interior. In the coastal lowlands, and marshes 

 adjacent to the lower reaches of the large rivers, it is also abundant. 

 As a rule it avoids salt water, but occasionally, during the daytime, 

 it is to be seen rafted with other species on the smooth Avater of the 

 ocean just outside the surf. 



Among the smallest of our ducks, and considered by many to be 

 the fastest of them in flight, the Green-winged Teal is still an easy 

 bird to recognize. Its small size, and in the male the chestnut brown 

 head relieved by green patches behind the eyes, the white bar in front 

 of each wing and the bright green speculum together with the absence 

 of a large blue patch on the wing make identification easy. Both the 



