592 



THE BLUE-WINGED TEAL. 



Recognition Marks. "Teal" size; white facial crescent of male; grayish 

 blue wing-coverts distinctive (except from the following which is rare and other- 

 wise quite different). 



Nest, of grasses, etc., lined with feathers, on the ground. Eggs, 6-12, 

 greenish white, or dull buffy. Av. size, 1.80 x 1.28 (45.7 x 32.5). 



General Range. North America in general, but chiefly eastward; north to 

 Alaska, and south to the West Indies, Lower California, and northern South 

 America. Casual in California. Breeds from Kansas and southern Illinois 

 northward. 



Range in Ohio. Abundant spring and fall migrant. Formerly summer 

 resident in northern portion of state. 



BECAUSE of the nature of their food, which consists chiefly of insects, 

 the Blue-winged Teals are much less hardy than their Green-winged kin, 

 and most of them retire to the Gulf States in winter, or even to the tropics. 

 On this account, also, they are the latest of the migrant ducks in spring, appear- 



Takcn on the Licking Reservoir. 



Photo by the Author. 



WHERE THE TEALS WOULD NEST. 



ing commonly about the middle of April, and lingering until the first week in 

 May. They arrive paired, but are much less frequently observed than in 

 fall, when they appear in considerable numbers. 



Sluggish streams, lagoons, and channels choked with vegetation, are 

 the favorite places of resort for this bird. Our reservoirs and lake marshes 

 afford ideal conditions, and I am inclined to think that if spring shooting 



