THE GREEN- WINGED TEAL. 



(Anas carolinensis.) 



The dainty little Green-winged Teal 

 is second only to the wood duck in the 

 beauty of plumage and w^ere it not for 

 its small size, doubtless it would rank as 

 the most esteemed of all of our ducks. 

 The delicacy of its flesh, the w^onderful 

 speed it attains when on the wing, and 

 its amiable disposition make it the prime 

 favorite of nearly all sportsmen. I can 

 attest to the rapidity of its flight. Many 

 times wdien I have been concealed in my 

 blind, the little bullet shaped form has 

 passed me so quickly that I hardly could 

 realize that it was the form of a bird, 

 and only w^hen seeing a long streak of 

 flying spray and a splash, as the bird 

 struck the water w^ould I be disillus- 

 ioned. Many times my hunting com- 

 panion and I have looked at each other 

 in a shame-faced manner and each has 

 asked, "Why did you not shoot ?^' Our 

 favorite excuse would naturally be 'T 

 waited for you to shoot first." 



The range of this attractive Teal is 

 large, covering North America in gen- 

 eral, though it breeds chiefly north of 

 the United States. In its fall migration 

 it passes southward as far as Honduras 

 and Cuba. It is said that representatives 

 of this species have been known to oc- 

 casionallv winter on the Great Lakes 

 and Professor Cooke records the nest- 

 ing of a few on the St. Claire Flats, 

 Michigan. Mr. Robert Kennicott has 

 given a most interesting account of the 

 Green-wdng's nesting habits : "The nests 

 found by him were in nearly open 

 ground among moss, and generally far 

 from water. In one instance he saw the 

 nest of the duck at the foot of a small 

 spruce in a mossy, half-barren, small 

 dry plain, and at least forty rods from 

 the w^ater. This nest w^as a simple de- 

 pression in the moss, but thickly lined 

 with down, and well protected by the 

 over-hanging branches of the spruce. 



The female fluttered slowly off along the 

 ground at his approach and the nest 

 was found to contain eight eggs." 

 While the usual number of eggs is about 

 eight or ten. Dr. Dall states that nests 

 often contain as many as sixteen to 

 eighteen. 



Mr. Ernest E. Thomp<^on in his "Birds 

 of Manitoba" says of the Green-winged 

 Teal : "It is usually met with in pairs 

 and is of a very affectionate disposition, 

 for if one is to be shot, the other either 

 remains to share its fate, or if it does 

 fly at first, usually returns almost im- 

 mediately to the side of its mate." The 

 mother Teal is very solicitous in the care 

 of her young. Mr. Thompson speaks 

 of one female Teal which he observed 

 travelling with her brood of ten young 

 ones across the prairie toward a large 

 pool. "The mother bird was in great 

 grief on finding that she w^as discov- 

 ered, but she w^ould not fly away ; she 

 threw herself on the ground at my feet 

 and beat with her wnngs as though quite 

 unable to escape and tried her utmost 

 to lead me away. But I was familiar 

 with the trick and would not be be- 

 guiled. I caught most of the tiny yel- 

 low downlings before they could hide 

 and carried them carefully to the pool, 

 where soon afterwards the trembling 

 mother rejoined them in safety." The 

 drakes do not assist their mates in the 

 duties of incubation or the care of the 

 young but spend their summers in put- 

 ting on an extra suit of handsome feath- 

 ers and living an idle life of pleasure. 

 The Green-winged Teals are not only 

 fleet of wing but also of foot. They feed 

 upon various wald seeds and berries of 

 marsh and water plants ; upon tadpoles 

 and aquatic insects, w-orms and small 

 snails. Mr. Audubon has well said that 

 the flesh of the Teal is superior to that 

 of the canvassback in tenderness, juci- 



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