446 QUERQUEDVLA DJSCORS. 



ery season, especially in the sounds of North Carolina, and it is extremely probable that 

 this bird is a migrant from the North, having bred on the American side of the Atlantic. 

 According to authors, these Ducks resemble the American Widgeon in manner of feeding, 

 etc., etc. 



GENUS VIII. QUERQUEDULA. THE TEALS. 



GEN. On. Kill, shorter than head, narrow, sliyht/y widened, <# tip, but not much fattened, swollen, nor hiyh at bnsr. 

 Marginal indentations, open . 



The trachea is straight and without dilatation. The larynx in males is slightly expanded and provided with a bony 

 frame-work. Stomach, muscular. Sexes, not similar. There are four species within our limits. 



QUERQUEDULA DISCOBS. 

 Blue-winged Teal. 



Querquedula discors STEPIT., Shaw's Zool. XII; 1824, 149. 



DESCRIPTION. 



SP. Cn. Form, slender. Size, small. COLOR. Adult male. Head, and neck all around, ashy-gray. Top of head, 

 black. Cresent-shaped spot in front of eye, white. Back, brown, becoming greenish posteriorly, crossed anteriorly by 

 two narrow bands of purplish. Outer webs of scapularies, blue, black, and green, streaked with reddish-huff. Wing cov- 

 erts, blue with the outer, white! Speculum, black glossed with green, tipped with white posteriorly. The under part-: 

 are purplish-ash; each feather spotted with black which becomes more obsolete behind. The under wing c.jverts and ax- 

 illaries are black. Bill, black, iris, brown and feet, yellowish. 



Adult female. Brown throughout, with the feathers edged with whitish which becomes more prominent below. 

 Throat, creamy. Wings as in male. Young. Similar to adult female but the wing markings are paler and lack the blue 

 scapularies; while in the fomale the speculum is very pale. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Readily known by the small size, blue wing coverts, and narrow bill. Distributed in summer throughout oith 

 America; wintering in the South. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of specimens from North America. Length, 15-50; stretch, 24*00; wing, 7'20; tail, 3'20; bill, 

 1*62; tarsus, 1'35. Longest specimen, 16-00; greatest extent of wing, 25'00; longest wing, 7'50: tail. 3 - 50; bill, 1*75; tarsus, 

 1-50. Shortest specimen, 15-00; gmallest extent of wing, 23'00; shortest wing, 6'90; tail, 2'90; bill, 1'50; tarsus, 1-25. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, placed on the ground in marshy places, composed of grass, weeds, etc. Kggs, six to ten in number, ellipti- 

 cal in form, and brownish-buff in color. Dimensions from 1*30 x 1'90 to 1*35x1*95. 



HABITS. 



These little Ducks prefer those small ponds which are half filled with lily pads and 

 other vegetation and which are so common in New England, as feeding places, and may 

 often be found in them in September, at which lime they are making their way toward the 

 South. The Blue-winged Teals are one of the most unsuspicious of all the inland Ducks, 

 and can be approached quite closely, especially when they first arrive from their northern 

 breeding grounds; and as they have a peculiar habit of huddling together when slightly 

 alarmed, the "sportsman has an excellent opportunity of securing a number at a single shot, 

 before they rise. Some years ago, when I was a small boy, and when these birds were 

 much more abundant than at present, I remember seeing an old gentleman kill upward of 

 twenty-five at a single discharge of one of those old muskets, known as a queen's arm. 

 When passing southward, these Teals are much more common just before a storm, and like 

 many other Ducks, are much" more restless in unsettled weather. There are, perhaps, few 

 birds which can move with greater rapidity than these little Teal, especially when coming 

 down the wind before a strong gale. I have always found these birds very abundant in 

 Florida in winter, where they frequent the pools on the marshes, or the mouths of narrow 

 creeks. This species breeds in the West and, possibly, as far south as Florida. 



