302 FEATHERED GAME 
The rice swamps and lagoons of the southern 
States are most populous with this species dur- 
ing the winter months, though many go on to 
the West Indies and even farther. 
The breeding dress of the Green-winged drake 
is a beautiful piece of coloring. The head and 
upper neck a rich, bright chestnut, darkening 
on the chin; a glossy patch of dark metallic 
green running back from each eye and growing 
deeper on the nape where the two stripes come 
together among the drooping feathers of the 
crest. This crest, quite pronounced at this 
time, is hardly noticeable in the fall plumage. 
Above, silvery gray, finely and regularly waved 
with countless jet black lines. A small ‘‘half- 
moon,’’ or crescent of white, in front of each 
wing—almost the only difference of plumage 
between this and the European variety, which 
lacks this marking. Have seen the American 
Green-wing lacking the white bar mentioned, 
but this is rarely so in the full plumage. If 
this mark is missing and the inner tertials are 
creamy white it is probable that the specimen 
is a stray from the Old World. Primaries and 
wing coverts brownish gray. Speculum a rich 
dark green, changeable and lustrous. Neck and 
