WILD DUCKS. S89 



the open season, and are therefore diligently sought for 

 by market hunters. 



The green-winged teal ( Querquedula cariolensis), which 

 receives its name from the rich green hue of the specu- 

 lum, has a black bill, light-bluish-gray feet, and a sliort, 

 rounded tail of sixteen acuminate feathers of a brownish- 

 gray color. The head and the upper part of the neck 

 are chestnut-brown; a broad band of glossy-green, with 

 whitish borders, is found on each side of the head; the un- 

 der parts are whitish; the forebreast has black, circular 

 spots; the upper parts and flanks are beautifully undulat- 

 ed with black and white bars; and the wings are brown- 

 ish-gray. An adult male has a length of about fifteen 

 inches, and weighs from eight to eleven ounces. This 

 species is remarkable for the beauty of its plumage, and 

 its swift, graceful movements in flight. Its feathers, like 

 those of the mallard, are in active demand for making 

 artificial flies, and large quantities are shipj^ed to Europe 

 for that purpose. The flesh is not considered equal to 

 that of the blue-wing, yet the difference is very slight, for 

 both live on the same class of food, and associate together 

 in every part of the country where they are found. One 

 reason for the epicurean distinction may be attributed to 

 the habitat of tlie green-wing, for it is more maritime 

 than its congener, and frequents tidewater and salt creeks 

 near the coast, which the other never does. It is also 

 hardier than the blue-wing, for it tarries longer in the 

 north and returns from the sontli earlier in the spring. 

 It is shot in the same manner as the others, and large 

 bags can generally be made, as it flies in close order, de- 

 coys with the utmost alacrity, and promptly returns to 

 the call of the deceiver who sits with a loaded shotgun 

 behind a blind, ready to assault it in the most cold-blood- 

 ed manner. Its notes are short, sharp, and rapid. 



The wood, or summer duck {Aix sponsa), is found all 

 over the country, but I have not seen it so abundant any- 



