RIVER DtlCKS 



(140) Querquedula discors 



(Linn.) (Lat., a small duck; discordant}. 



BLUE-WINGED TEAL. Bill 

 broader than that of the preceding 

 species. Ad. cP — Plumage as shown ; 

 much variation in the body color, 

 but always more or less buffy or 

 rufous. Ad. 9 — Similar to the 9 of 

 the preceding species but with more 

 buEfy coloring of the body and with 

 blue wing coverts as on the (f. L., 

 15.50; W., 7.2;; T., i.so; B., 1.50. 

 Call — A weak, rapid c|uacking. iVcv/ 

 — on the ground among grass or 

 weeds bordering marshes or ponds; 

 six to ten buffy eggs, 1.90 .x 1.30. 



Range — Breeds from Me., N. Y., 

 Ind. and Ore. northward. Winters 

 from Md., 111. and B, C, south to 

 Brazil and Chile. 



Their nests are concealed in patclies of weeds or tussocks of 

 grass bordering bogs, marshes or creeks. They are made of 

 rushes and weeds, hned with feathers and down. Usually six 

 to eight, but sometimes as many as twelve, ivory-white eggs 

 are laid. 



BLUE- WINGED TEAL are but a trifle larger than the 

 Green-wings. They are quite commonly known as Summer 

 Teal because they commonly nest farther south than Green- 

 wings and because they are the first of the ducks to migrate 

 in fall. Early in September those individuals that nest in 

 northern United States move to the south, while their places 

 are taken by others arriving from Canada. 



The flight of this species is usually regarded by gunners 

 as more swift than that of any other. Notwithstanding 

 that their speed is often rated as more than one hundred 

 miles per hour, it is very doubtful if they can, by their own 

 efforts, exceed more than sixty miles. Their small size serves 

 two purposes, making their flight seem faster in comparison 



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