Teal and Pintailed Ducks 187 



and interest, it will be necessary to pass most of them by or at most to devote 

 only a brief space to them. Thus the Dusky or Black Duck (A. obscura) is a 

 well-known bird of eastern North America, which may be distinguished from the 

 Mallard by its darker coloration and the absence of white in the wing. It is, 

 however, more frequent along the seacoasts than the former, but in habits and 

 voice it is indistinguishable. The Florida Duck (A. fulviguld) of Florida and 

 the Gulf coast is a smaller bird that may be known from the last by the absence 

 of streaks on the throat. The Gad wall or Gray Duck (^4. strepem), the Baldpate 

 or American Widgeon (A. americana), and the European Widgeon (A. penelope) 

 are other well-known species. 



Teal. Quite different, at least as regards size, are the Teal, of which some 

 fifteen species are recognized. Of these the Green-winged Teal (A. carolinensis) 

 may be described as a bird between twelve and fifteen inches in length, the adult 

 male with the head and upper neck chestnut, a broad metallic green patch back 

 of the eye, and the speculum bright metallic green, while the lower parts are 

 waved with black and white. This bird, probably the most abundant of our 

 smaller Ducks, is found throughout North America, breeding mainly north of 

 the United States, and migrating in winter south to the Gulf States, Honduras, 

 and Cuba. The nest is placed on the ground usually among grasses by which 

 it is partially concealed, and is simply an accumulation of grasses and weeds, 

 though often lined with down. The eggs are from six to twelve, clear ivory 

 white in color. The Common European Teal (A. crecca), which may be known 

 from this by the absence of the white bar on the side of the breast, is found 

 throughout Europe and northern Asia and occasionally in eastern North America. 

 The Blue-winged Teal (A. discors), with a bronzy greenish speculum, is found 

 in North America chiefly east of the Rocky Mountains, while the Cinnamon Teal 

 (.4. cyanoptera) ranges from the Columbia River to Chile, Argentina, and the 

 Falkland Islands. 



Pintailed Ducks. Not far removed from these are the Pintailed Ducks 

 (Da/Ha), which may be recognized at once by the rather long neck, the bill narrow 

 and longer than the head, and above all by the elongation of the middle pair of 

 tail-feathers in the male. Two or three species are now recognized, the com- 

 monest and most widely distributed being the common Pintail (D. acuta) of the 

 Northern Hemisphere in general, migrating south in winter to middle America 

 and the West Indies in the New World, and to the Mediterranean countries, 

 India, and the Indo-Malayan Archipelago in the Old World. The sexes are much 

 alike in summer, but in winter they are quite different, the male at this season 

 having the head and upper neck olive-brown, the back of the neck black with a 

 white stripe on each side which is confluent with the white of the breast and 

 lower parts; the back, sides, and flanks marked with wavy lines of black and 

 white, while the scapulars are velvety black edged with whitish, and the speculum 

 is metallic green or bronzy purple ; the length is from twenty-eight to thirty inches. 



The Pintail breeds in North America from the northern United States north- 

 ward, being, for example, the most universally abundant Duck found in North 

 Dakota, where it is evenly distributed throughout the prairie regions in lakes 



