WILD DUGKS. 287 



greenliead of the same sex, is about seventeen inches 

 long, and weighs from sixteen to eighteen ounces. 



The cinnamon, or red-breasted teal {Querquedula cya- 

 noptera), whose range extends from the northern to t-he 

 southern end of the Continent, west of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, is a handsome creature. Its head, neck, and un- 

 der parts are a rich purpHsh-chestnut, which merges into 

 black on tlie belly. Its eggs are oval, and much smaller 

 at one end than the other. They are a pale-buff in color, 

 and devoid of the grayish or drab hue so generally notice- 

 able in the eggs of the duck family. This species min- 

 gles freely with the mallard, the blue-winged, and the 

 green-winged teal, especially during the winter when it 

 seeks a southern home. Thousands of these birds may 

 then be seen paddling about in some tranquil stream or 

 lake, and daintily picking up the seeds that float on the 

 surface, or straining the water through their bills to se- 

 cure the minute insects that thrive in it, while they gab- 

 ble sociably to each other. The cinnamon teal has been 

 found in the most northern Territories of the United 

 States, and as far south as the Straits of Magellan, so it 

 seems to be at home throughout the length of the New 

 World. 



The blue-winged teal {Querquedula discors) has a 

 bluish-black bill, dull-yellowish feet, and dusky webs. 

 The upper part of the head is black; there is a small 

 patch of white on the side of the head before the eye, 

 the back is brownish-black, glossed with green; the wing- 

 coverts are sky-blue with a metallic lustre; the lower parts 

 are a pale-reddish-orange, shaded on the breast with pur- 

 plish-red, and thickly spotted with black; tlie tail feathers 

 are chocolate-brown, slightly glossed with green; the axillar 

 feathers, a few of the lower wmg-coverts, and a patch on 

 the side of the rump are pure white; and the lower tail- 

 eoverts are brownish-black. It has a length of sixteen 

 inches, and a weight of twelve ounces or more. This 



