1]8 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA 



Ordinarily Green-winged Teal feed during the daytime, but if 

 molested they forage chiefly at night. Their favorite feeding ground 

 is along the shore of a pond where they search about the mud (that 

 is, "puddle") for insects and seeds. Like the Mallard and other 

 pond and river ducks, the Green-winged Teal feeds in shallow water, 

 searching the bottom by "standing on its head" and sifting out the 

 seeds and other food materials from the mud and water. While 

 thus "tilting" a bird often kicks the water vigorously to help it in 

 maintaining the desired balance. Occasionally it may be seen wander- 

 ing about on the grass-grown banks searching for insects. In fact 

 the Green-wing is almost as omnivorous a feeder as the Mallard ; 

 for it will take aquatic plants, snails, crustaceans and all sorts of 

 insects along with the commonest element of its food — weed seeds. 



Some persons consider the Green-winged Teal the most desirable 

 duck as far as flavor is concerned. Its tender juicy flesh is certainly 

 of a sort to be relished by anyone. This duck is also very attractive 

 from a sportsman's standpoint ; indeed many hunters consider it their 

 "best" duck. It is both fast flying and wary and this makes it 

 difficult to hit. A long lead and a quick shot are necessary to bring 

 it to bag. However, it is fond of company and in consequence is 

 easily attracted by the decoys. Even when it has been shot at several 

 times this desire for company will cause the birds to return repeatedly 

 to the same pond. The close formation is maintained both when in 

 the air and on the water, thus affording opportunity for "pot shots." 



In this state, the numbers of Green-winged Teal shot each year 

 exceed those of any other single species of duck. This is because of 

 its greater abundance and also its desirability as a table bird. In 

 1909-1910 each of the game transfer companies of San Francisco 

 handled from 5,000 to 20,000 "teal," while in 1895-1896 more than 

 82,000 were sold in the markets of San Francisco and Los Angeles 

 (Calif. Fish Comm., 1896, p. 40). There were probably some Cinna- 

 mon Teal in these lots, but by far the greater number were Green- wings. 

 In 1886 several species of ducks on the San Francisco market sold for 

 the following prices per dozen : Canvasback, $3.50 per dozen ; Mall- 

 ards, $2.50 and $3.00; Sprigs, $1.50 and $2.00; Widgeon, $1.25; Teal, 

 $1.50 to $1.75; "small ducks," $1.00 (Belding, MS). Thus it will 

 be seen that, taking size into account, teal were greatly preferred. 

 As long as the breeding grounds in the far north are well protected, 

 and the toll taken each year is not too great, we can expect this duck 

 to continue to visit us in numbers. That the toll is now in fact too 

 great is the contention of many hunters in this state, who maintain 

 that the numbers of this bird are steadily decreasing from year to 

 year. 



