4O THE CHICAGO ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



A common summer resident and the last of our ducks to 

 arrive in the spring. It nests the last of May on or near most of 

 the small lakes of our area. On one occasion, I found a pair 

 nesting on the prairies a long distance from water. Mr. E. W. 

 Nelson says: "The middle of May, 1875, I obtained a nest of 

 this species containing fourteen freshly laid eggs. It was situated 

 near a branch of the Calumet Marsh and close to the railroad 

 track, being about midway between the track and fence in a 

 dense bunch of grass." 



While the range of the Blue-winged Teal covers North 

 America in general, it departs from our region early in October. 



Genus SPATULA Boie, 1822. 



Spatula clypeata (Linnaeus). Shoveller. 



Anas clypeata LINN^US, S. N., ed. 10, I, 1758, 124. 

 Spatula clypeata BOIE, Isis, 1822, 564. 



Popular synonyms : SPOON-BILL. SHOVEL-BILL. MUD-SHOVELLKB. 

 BUTTER DUCK. BKOADY. 



A common migrant, and is said to have been a common sum- 

 mer resident in earlier days (Mr. E. W. Nelson, 1876). At this 

 time, however, it is only on rare occasions that one of these ducks 

 is seen within our limits in the summer. The earliest spring ar- 

 rival in my records is March 30, and the first fall arrival Sep- 

 tember 12. It departs late in October. 



The range of the Shoveller covers the northern hemisphere 

 and in North America it breeds from Alaska to Texas. 



Genus DAFILA Stephens, 1824. 



Dafila acuta (Linnaeus). Pintail. 



Anas acuta LINNAEUS, S. N., ed. 10, I, 1758, 126. 

 Dafila acuta BONAPARTE, Comp. List, 1838, 56. 



Popular synonyms: SPIKE-TAIL. LONG-NECK. SPRIG-TAIL. PICKET- 

 TAIL. PHEASANT DUCK. WATER PHEASANT. 



This species is by far the most common of our ducks during 

 the spring migration, the earliest record of arrival being February 

 6. The only record of its nesting within our limits is that of 

 Mr. E. W. Nelson, who says :* "Each year a few pairs breed upon 

 the marshes in this vicinity, but whether they breed in the state 

 away from the Lake region I have no means of knowing. In 

 the spring of 1875 several pairs of these birds nested in the 

 prairie sloughs near the Calumet River, and on the twenty-ninth 



*Birds of Northeastern Illinois, Bull, of the Essex Institute, Vol. VIII, 1876, 139. 



