QUERQUEDVLA DJSCOns. 



ery season, especially in the sounds of North Carolina, and it is extremely probable that 

 this bird is 0. migrant from the North, having bred on the American siile of the Atlantic. 

 According to authors, these Ducks resemble the American Widgeon in manner of feeding, 

 etc., etc. 



GENUS VIII. QUERQUEDULA. THE TEALS. 

 Gex. Cu. Bill, shorter than head, narrow, sHyhtly widened at tip, but not much flattened, swollen, nor hiyh at base. 

 Marginal indentations, open. -i i -.i i 



The trachea is straight and without dilatation. Tiie h^rynx in males is slightly expanded and provided with a bony 

 frame-work. Stomach, muscular. Sexes, not simUar. There are four species within our limits. 



QUERQUEDULA DISCOBS. 

 Blue-winged Teal. 

 Querquedula discors Steph., Shaw's Zool. XII; 1824, 149. 

 DESCRIPTION. 

 Sp Cn Form slender. Size, small. Color. Adult male. Head, and neck all around, asliy-gray. Top of head, 

 black ' Cresent-sha'ped spot in front of eye, white. Back, brown, becoming greeni'^h posteriorly, crossed anteriorly by 

 two narrow bands of purplish. Outer webs of scapularies, blue, black, and green, streaked with reddish-buff. Wing cov- 

 erts blue with the outer, white Speculum, black glossed with green, tipped with white posteriorly. The under parts 

 are purplish-ash ; each feather spotted with Idack which becomes more obsolete behind. The under wing Coverts and as- 

 illaries are Idack. Bill, black, iris, brown and feet, yellowish. 



Adult female. Brown throughout, with the feathers edged with whitish which becomes more prominent below. 

 Throat, creamy. Wings as in male. Young. Similar to adult female but the wing markings are paler and lack the blue 

 scapularies; while in the f-male the speculum is very pale. 



OBSERVATIONS. 

 Readily known by the small size, blue wing coverts, and narrow bill. Distributed in summer throughout oitli 

 America; wintering in the South. 



DIMENSIONS. 

 Average measurements of specimens from North America. Length, 15 -.W; stretch, 24-00: wing, 7-20; tail, 3-20; bill, 

 1-62; tarsiS, 1-35. Longestspecimen, 16-00; greatest extentof wing, 25-00; longestwing,7-50; tail. S'SO; bill, r7.5; tai-sus, 

 l-5o'. Shortest specimen, 15-00; smallest extent of wing, 23-00; shortest wing, 6-90; tail, 2-90; bill, 1-50; tarsus, 125. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 

 ISests. placed on the ground in marshy places, composed of grass, weeds, etc. Eyys, six to ten in number, ellipti- 

 cal in form, and brownish-bufif in color. Dimensions from 1-30 x 1-90 to I'SS x 1-95. 



HABITS. 



These little Ducks prefer those small ponds which are half filled with lily pads and 

 other vegetation and which are so common in New England, as feeding places, and may 

 often be found in them in September, at which time they are making their way toward the 

 South. The Blue-winged Teals are one of the most unsuspicious of all the inland Ducks, 

 and can bo approached quite closely, especially when they first arrive from their northern 

 breeding grounds; and ;is they have a peculiar habit of huddling together when slightly 

 alarmed, the sportsman has an excellent opportunity of securing a number at a .single shot, 

 before they rise. Some years ago, when I was a small boy, and when these birds were 

 much more abundant than at present, I remember seeing an old gentleman kill upward of 

 twenty-five at a single discharge of one of those old muskets, known as a queen's arm. 

 When passing southward, these Teals are much more common just before a storm, and like 

 many other Ducks, are much more restless in unsettled weather. There are, perhaps, few 

 birds which can move with greater rapidity than these little Teal, especially when coming 

 down the wind before a strong gale. I have always found these birds very abundant in 

 Florida in winter, where they frequent the pools on the marshes, or the mouths of narrow 

 creeks. This species breeds in the West and, possibly, as far south as Florida. 



