CINNAMON TEAL 
399 
he found direct evidence that immediately after the nesting season the males flock 
together as with other North American shoal-water ducks. Moreover, during his 
South American trip in 1920, the field-notes of which he has kindly sent to me, 
he foimd distinct evidence to corroborate what he had seen in Utah and New 
Mexico. As early as December 3 he saw a flock of thirty adult males near General 
Roca, Rio Negro. In Rio Negro Province Peters (MS.) never saw a male near the 
nest. 
I have a letter from Dr. Wetmore upon this same subject. After a general state- 
ment to the effect that this Teal acts in the same way as do other surface-feeders 
during the breeding season, he adds: “I have seen males with females and recently 
hatched young once or tvnce, but have not been convinced that the two were of 
necessity a lawfully wedded pair, for males whose females have left them often try 
to interfere with other pairs.” 
Status. In the United States the Cinnamon Teal is known almost exclusively 
as a breeding bird, so that its status as we know it refers principally to the summer 
season. Near Chilliwack, British Columbia, A. Brooks (1917) considered it next to 
the Mallard in abundance up to the ’80’s. Since that time it has become scarce, 
owing to the floods on the Fraser River and the shooting of broods before they 
could fly. In Bendire’s (1877) time it was considered the commonest Teal in south- 
eastern Oregon, and in the Malheur Lake as many as one thousand pairs were noted 
in April and May, 1915 (Cantwell, U.S. Biological Survey notes). Its status in 
California is summed up by Grinnell, Bryant and Storer (1918) who consider it, as 
regards the whole State, the commonest breeding duck, though the Pintail and 
ISIallard may outnumber it in certain localities. In the San Joaquin Valley it is 
particularly numerous. Oberholser and Bailey (U.S. Biological Survey) spoke of it 
as the most abundant summer duck in the Ruby Valley and other parts of Nevada, 
while on the Bear River Marshes, Utah, it was extremely munerous as a breeding 
bird. Only the Red-head exceeded it, and the population was estimated by Wet- 
more (1921) at 800 pairs. At Barr Lake, Colorado, only about half as many Cinna- 
mons as Blue-wings were breeding (Rockwell, 1911). Near Lake Burford, New Mex- 
ico, it is also a very common breeder (Wetmore, 1920). In the TMiite Mountains of 
Arizona, near Marsh Lake, about sixty pairs were found breeding (Goldman, U.S. 
Biological Survey) , and Commissioner Arthur of Louisiana thought it more common 
than it used to be on the Gulf coast of that State (Bull. Louisiana Dept, of Conserva- 
tion, no. 5, 1918). Its status through the rest of the United States is not well known. 
It has often been confused with the Blue-winged Teal, and though rather widely dis- 
tributed it can only be regarded as a summer straggler from farther west and south. 
Of course these Teal have come into very close association with man and his works 
all over our Southwest. Although irrigation has in many places increased the water 
