[144] BIRDS OF OREGON 



Warner Lakes region, by Prill, but we have not found it breeding during 

 our years in the State. 



This beautiful little bird appears in abundance in late September or 

 early October in many sections of the State and remains to winter wherever 

 there is open water available. It is one of the common wintering ducks 

 on the Columbia River about Portland and is regularly found on all the 

 larger bays and lakes of the coast. We have records for Umatilla and 

 Klamath Counties, December 10, and for Wallowa County, near Enter- 

 prise, February 2.0. It remains well into the spring, although most of the 

 flocks have departed by mid-April. Our earliest record of its fall appear- 

 ance in numbers is August 18 (Klamath County); and the latest record 

 on the west side of the Cascades, April 2.1 (Multnomah County). Our 

 earliest fall record is August 17; our latest spring date, May 13 (both Lake 

 County). 



Although teal are not as noisy as some ducks, one of the characteristic 

 sounds of the willow-grown lakes and ponds of the Columbia River 

 bottoms is the soft throaty whistle of the little males that are quite 

 talkative at times. Usually, however, they are rather quiet birds, spend- 

 ing hours at a time sitting motionless on the water or standing statuelike 

 on some little point. They walk better than most ducks and can run quite 

 rapidly. Like others of their immediate relatives, they can spring straight 

 into the air from water or land for a surprising height and, when once 

 launched, carry out aerial evolutions that are equaled only by those of 

 some of the sandpipers. With bewildering speed they turn at right angles 

 in full flight, dip straight down, or rise straight into the air. At such 

 times they are as difficult to shoot as jacksnipes and for this reason are 

 great favorites with many sportsmen. The sight of a small flock of these 

 birds darting, swinging, and turning suddenly downward at almost right 

 angles to drop into the water is one never to be forgotten by an out-of- 

 doors enthusiast. Words cannot adequately describe the suddenness of 

 their flight-direction changes or their swift downward rocketing, throw- 

 ing their wings first to one side and then the other. 



Their food is like that of most other shallow-water ducks. More than 

 90 per cent of it is vegetable matter, most of which, according to Bio- 

 logical Survey records, is comprised of seeds of sedges, pondweeds (Pota- 

 mogetons\ grass, smart-weeds (P oly gonurn) , duckweeds, and various other 

 water plants. 



Blue-winged Teal: 



Querqtiedula discors (Linnaeus) 



DESCRIPTION. ''Adult male: Sides of head slaty gray, with purple gloss; white 

 crescent in front of eye bordered by black; under parts vinaceous, finely spotted with 

 dusky; back scalloped and streaked with dusky and vinaceous; wing bright blue at 

 base, middle coverts tipped with white and buffy, speculum iridescent green; under 



