BLUE-WINGED TEAL 207 



the young are able to fly, or even before that, they begin gathering into 

 flocks, preparing for the fall migration, which begins with the first early 

 frosts in August and is mainly accomplished during September, for these 

 delicate birds are very sensitive to the approach of autumn and are the 

 earliest ducks to migrate." In the winter they are "abundant in some 

 parts of the South, where they make their winter home in the great rice 

 fields and extensive marshes, feeding on the ripened grains that fall upon 

 the water, feasting and growing fat. Here they are safe enough as long 

 as they paddle about and remain hidden in the innermost recesses of the 

 rice fields and inaccessible swampy pools" (Bent, 1923). The winter is 

 spent farther south than is the case with any other North American 

 duck, and although large numbers of these birds do remain in the 

 marshes of the Southern States, the majority spend the winter in northern 

 South America, as far south as central Chile and Brazil. 



Teals, and the Blue-wing is no exception, are delicious table birds; 

 they seem always to be fat, juicy and tender and are generally considered 



to be the choicest of the lot. The gun- 

 ner looks for the Blue-wing about the 

 f full of the moon in September; it is 

 the earliest of migrants and consti- 

 tutes the main portion of the bag at 

 the beginning of the shooting season. 

 Many of the old males leave for the 

 south before August and the bag in 



September shows a high proportion of females and juveniles. No duck 

 decoys more willingly than the Blue-winged Teal and it will drop in as 

 readily to wooden decoys as to live ones. Flying in large, closely-bunched 

 flocks, presenting an easy target in spite of their exceedingly swift flight, 

 they circle and twist as they pass and repass the decoys before splashing 

 in. Even in the dusk or early twilight flocks may be recognized by their 

 erratic flight, the sibilant sound of the wings, and by the softly whistled 

 twitters of the birds as they fly. In rising from land or water they spring 

 vertically into the air with characteristic agility; they swim in closely- 

 bunched groups, so closely that they often seem to be touching. 



The courtship of these teals appears to consist of a nuptial flight 

 somewhat after the style of the Black Duck, and during the breeding 

 season they may be seen coursing over and around the ponds in couples 

 or three's and may be identified by their swift flight with its many evo- 

 lutions. Bennett (1938) says that the most interesting phase of the court- 

 ship, however, takes place on the water and along the beaches or mud 

 flats. The males and females, or male and female, swim slowly about, 

 bowing to each other. "The head and neck of the bowing birds went up 

 and down and slightly outward. As many as 31 bows per minute were 

 recorded for several minutes at a time. The swimming around each other 

 and bowing took place for hours at a time, interrupted with feeding and 

 resting periods. At times one male chased another male away from the 

 female. Prior to the chasing, both males and the female often courted 

 for hours before dissension arose." 



