GREEN -WINGED TEAL 117 



thinly furnished with clown about the top and the eggs rested on the 

 ground." The inside dimensions of this nest were about Si/o by 31/2 

 inches. Farther north, at tlie mouth of the Yukon River, Alaska, 

 Nelson (1887, p. 69) says the nests are placed on dry knolls near 

 small ponds, and are composed of grass stems and featliers. The 

 seven eggs referred to above as collected b}' Goldman at Tulare Lake 

 are bluntly ovate in shape, and decidedly smaller than those of the 

 Cinnamon Teal. In color they are pale olive buff. They measure in 

 inches 1.60 to 1.69 by 1.22 to 1.26 and average 1.65 by 1.24 (set now 

 in U. S. National Museum). 



The only description we have of the behavior of the female when 

 with a brood is that by Bent (1902, p. 1) who came upon a parent 

 bird with eight ducklings in a rush-bordered pond in North Dakota. 

 The female made a considerable demonstration, flapping and drag- 

 ging herself about as long as the observer remained. The young 

 meanwhile sought safety in the adjacent rushes. In Alaska, accord- 

 ing to Nelson (loc. eit.), the old and young may be found feeding 

 together by the hist of August. They then forage in the mud at the 

 edge of snuiU secluded tide creeks or in the grass-covered margins 

 of pools in the marsh land. The downy young of the Green-winged 

 Teal, as compared with those of related species, exhibit one feature 

 by which they can be distinguished even if color characters cannot be 

 remembered. The bill is notably long and parallel-sided, giving an 

 effect of extreme slenderness. 



The Green-winged Teal is distinctly a gregarious species and, 

 during the winter season, flocks have been observed, of as many as 

 several hundred individuals. In fact this has been referred to as 

 the most gregarious of ducks. Another striking feature of this bird 's 

 behavior is its extremely high rate of speed on the wing. Bowles {in 

 Dawson, 1909, p. 773) says: 



Moviug at a rate of certainly not less than one hundred miles an hour, 

 the evolutions of a large flock of these birds are truly startling. They fly 

 in such close order that one would think their wings must interfere, even on a 

 straight course; yet of a sudden the whole flock will turn at a right angle, 

 or wheel and twist as if it were one bird. The looker-on can only wonder what 

 the signal may be which is given and obeyed to such perfection, for the least 

 hesitation or mistake on the part of a single bird would result in death or a 

 broken wing to a score. 



When flushed from the ground or water these teal usually ascend 

 to a considerable elevation before flying off. When not disturbed 

 they like to spend a large share of their time on land and seem to 

 enjoy this "loafing" more than the great majority of wild ducks. 

 The Green-wing is a rapid swdmmer, but it seldom dives except when 

 wounded. 



