102 BULLETIN 15 5, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Attention may be called here to the name Dafila carihaea of Hart- 

 laub described briefly from Haiti as "Wesentlich verschieden von D. 

 a?7ie?"icana und uro-phasiauus; grosser wie beide." As urophasianus 

 is an old name for Dafila l)aha7iiensis it is possible that Dafila cari- 

 haea refers to the Bahama duck, though from the meager description 

 the species concerned may not be successfully identified. 



The Bahama duck is found in freshwater marshes or in the brack- 

 ish lagoons of the coast, at times ranging on broad stretches of open 

 water, but usually found among rushes or other aquatic growth, or 

 in mangroves. It flushes quickly and flies with swift direct flight. 



The generic name for this duck is usually given as Paecilonetta, 

 but Wetmore has determined that birds of this supposed group are 

 not generically distinct from Dafila. 32 



The Bahama duck, which is only a little larger than a teal 

 is easily told in the hand or on the wing by the light, buffy brown 

 tail, distinctly lighter than the back, and the sharp line of demar- 

 cation on the cheeks between the white of the throat and side of the 

 head and the grayish brown of the crown. There is a spot at the 

 base of the bill which is usually bright red but is said sometimes 

 to be light yellow, a case of this being recorded by Abbott in a 

 specimen taken at Port-de-Paix. 



NETTION CAROLINENSE (Gmelin) 

 GREEN-WINGED TEAL, PATO DE LA FLORIDA, SARCELLE 



Anas carolinensis Gmelin, Syst. Nat., vol. 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 533 (Hudson Bay 

 to Carolina). 



Nettion crecca carolinensis, Beere, Zool. Soc. Bull., vol. 30, 1927, p. 138 ; Be- 

 neath Tropic Seas, 1928, p. 218 (Port-au-Prince). 



Rare in winter. 



Beebe says "three were examined in a hunter's bag in Port-au- 

 Prince." Abbott was informed by Lieutenant Nickinson of the 

 Marine Corps that he had shot this species near Santo Domingo City. 

 This teal should occur with other migrant ducks in winter, and may 

 be more common than the meager information above quoted indicates. 



The green-winged teal, with its blue-winged relative, is among the 

 smallest ducks that come to the island. The adult male has the head 

 and neck rufous chestnut, with green on the sides of the head. The 

 female is more plainly colored. Either sex is distinguished easily 

 from the blue-winged teal by the green wing speculum and the lack 

 of blue on the shoulder. These birds measure about 365 mm. in 

 length. 



83 See Wetmore, New York Acad. Sci., Scient. Surv. Porto Rico and Virgin Islands, 

 vol. 9, 1927, pp. 310-311. 



