534 



LAMKI.LIUOSTUAL SU'IMMERS — AXSEUES. 



V 



are exceedingly tat. They depart, liowever, when the weather Ijecomes so cohl that 

 ice forms. Toward the end o.' February they again become alxuuhint; but this time 

 they arc U'an, though in their sumnu-r garb, in which the nude is very beautiful. 

 During their stay they are seen in the liayous and ponds, along the banks of the Mis- 

 sissippi, and on the large and muddy sand-bars, feeding on grasses and their seeds, 

 particularly in autumn, when they are very f(uul of the wihl pimento. In the spring 

 sonic remain as late as the l.'itli of May. 



On the liGth of April, iSliJ, in his visit to Texas, Audubon found them on all the 

 ponds and .salt bayous or inlets of Galveston Island, as well as ou the watercourses of 

 the interior, where, he was assured, the}' breed in great numbers. 



The Hight ol' this Duck is extremely rapid, fully as swift as that of the I'assenger 

 Pigeon. AVhen advancing against a stiff breeze it shows alternately its upper and 

 lower surface. During its Hight it utters a soft, lisping note, Avhich it also emits when 

 apprehensive of danger. It swims biu)yantly, and when in a Hock so closcdy together 

 that the indiviiluals nearly touch each other. In con.sequence of this habit hunters 

 are able to nuike a frightful havoc among these birds on their Hr.st appearance in 

 the fall, when they are easily approached. Audubon has seen as many as eighty-four 

 killed by a single discharge of a double-barrelled gun. 



It may readily be kejtt in conlincment, soon becomes very docile, feeds readily on 

 coarse corn-meal, and might easily be domesticated. I'rofessor Kundien, however, 

 has made several unsuccessful attempts to rai.se this Duck by placing its eggs under 

 a Domestic Hen. He informs nu' that this species is the latest Duck to arrive in 

 the spring. It is very common, and breeds abundantly in Southern Wiseonsin, espe- 

 cially on the borders of Lake Koskonong. It nests on the ground among the reeds 

 {ind coarse herbage, generally near the water, but he has met with its nest at least 

 half a mile from the nearest water, though always on low land. The nest is simply 

 an accunudation of reeds and rushes lined in the middle with down and feathers. 

 This Duck prefers the dryer marshes near creeks. He has always found its nests 

 well lined with down, and when the female leaves her nest she always covers her 

 eggs with down, and draws the grass, of which the outside of the nest is composed, 

 over the top. He does not think that she ever lays more than twelve eggs, the usual 

 number being eight to twelve. These are of a dear ivory white, without even the 

 slightest tinge of green. They range from 1.8U to 1.95 inches in length, and from 

 1.25 to 1.35 in breadth. 



Querquedula cyanoptera 



THE CIRNAHOH TEAL. 



j4nas cyanoptera, Vieii.l. Nouv. Diet. V. 1816, 104. 



Querquedula ajanopler/i, Cass. U. S. Astr. Kxp. II. 1856, 202 (Chili) j llhistr. B. Cnl. Tex. etc. 1855, 

 82, pi. 15. — Baiui), B. X. Am. 1858, 780 ; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, no. 582. — Coces, Key, 1872, 

 288 ; Check List, 1873, no. 497 ; 2d cil. 1882, no. 717 ; B. N. W. 1874, 567. — KiDOW. Nom. 

 N. Am. B. 1881, no. 610. 



Anas Ilaffiesi, Kino, Zool. Jour. IV. 1828, 87 ; Suppl. pi. 29 (Straits of Magellan). 



Ptcrocyanea cmntkata, "Liciit." Giiav, Gen. B. III. 1849, 617. 



Had. Western America, from the Cohuubia River to Chili, Buenos Ayres, and Falkland 

 Islands. Casual in Eastern North America (Louisiana, Illinois, Florida ?) 



Sp. Char. Adult male: Head, neck, and lower parts rich purplisli chestnut, duller — some- 

 times quite dusky — on the abdomen ; pileum and crissum black ; scapulars and part of the back 

 chestnut, marked with U-shaped bars of black, the middle of the back more dusky ; tertiala black, 



