BIRDS OF NEW YORK I93 



white crescent in front of wing; upper parts and flanks finely waved with 

 black bars on a grayish white surface ; under parts whitish, buff y on breast 

 and clouded with gray and marked with round white spots ; outer scapulars 

 and tail coverts, and crissum black, a buff y patch on each side ; wing coverts 

 brownish gray; mirror bright green, velvety black on outer parts, bordered 

 with ocherous buff on the front and with white on the rear; bill black; 

 feet bluish gray; iris brown. Female and young: No crest; head and neck 

 brown streaked with reddish brown; throat and foreneck grayish; upper 

 parts varied with dark brown, tawny and grayish; whitish or grayish 

 below, tinged with buffy on breast and spotted with dusky; wings similar 

 to male. 



Length 13-15 inches ; extent 22-24;wing 7-7.6;tail 3;bill i.5;tarsus 1.2. 



Distribution and migration. This species is uncommon along the sea- 

 coast of New York State, but is common along the Hudson river and the 

 lakes and marshes of the interior of the State. It occurs almost entirely 

 as a migrant, appearing soon after the Mallard and Pintail in March and 

 leaving about the middle of April for its breeding grounds in the north. 

 It returns from the 5th to the 20th of September and the greater ntomber 

 depart for the south from October 20th to November loth, being abundant 

 in the southwestern states and Mexico throughout the winter. Occasionally, 

 however, it is found both on Long Island and in western New York in 

 winter. Mr Ottomar Reinecke reports a case of its breeding on Strawberry 

 island, Niagara river, and Foster Parker one case on the Montezuma mar- 

 shes, while wing tipped birds have undoubtedly bred in other localities. 

 The breeding range, according to Cooke, extends from New Brunswick 

 to northern Illinois and Oregon and southward in the Rocky mountain 

 region to New Mexico and north to the edge of the barren ground on Hud- 

 son bay and Kotzebue sound, the "main breeding grotinds being in west 

 central Canada from Manitoba to Athabasca." 



The Green-wing is a noisier bird than the Blue-winged teal, the male 

 uttering a short mellow whistle and the duck a quack after the fashion of 

 a Black duck but small, high-pitched and more often repeated. It feeds 

 chiefly at night on aquatic plants, snails, insects and crustaceans. Its nest 

 is placed on the ground near the border of the stream or marsh. The eggs 

 are from 8 to 12 of a pale greenish buff color, about 1.85 x 1.25 inches. 



