226 WILD-FOWL 



another for himself. The bird was cooked to perfec- 

 tion, and I had no hesitation in pronouncing it the 

 best duck I ever ate. The blue-wing, however, never 

 has the sedge-taste which the green-wing has some- 

 times, and may fairly be regarded as the best duck 

 that flies. 



A distinguished ornithological writer in a recent 

 work thus said : " 1 know of no better bird for the 

 table than a blue-winged teal fattened upon wild-rice." 

 But in the same book, speaking of the canvas-back, 

 he says: "There is no duck save, perhaps, the red- 

 head, that can equal this splendid species in the del- 

 icate quality of its flesh." And again : " The flesh of 

 the red-head, when it has been feeding upon wild 

 celery and such dainty food, for tenderness and flavor 

 is excelled by no other duck." 



Although somewhat conflicting, we find here high 

 praise for all. 



The blue-wings and green-wings are found from the 

 Atlantic to the Pacific Coast, the former more abun- 

 dant in the Eastern and Central States, and especially 

 so in the Mississippi valley. The cinnamon-teal is dis- 

 tinctly a Western bird, although it has been known to 

 go as far eastward as Florida. Such occurrences, as 

 Elliot says, are rare and are to be regarded in the 

 same light as would be the appearance of some Euro- 

 pean species. The blue-winged teal are among the 

 first ducks to arrive from the North, and usually come 

 to the Northern States as early as September. They 

 do not like the cold, and are among the first to leave 

 for the South. Many of the teal remain to nest in the 

 marshes of the Northern States whenever they are not 



