﻿BLUE-WINGED 
  TEAL. 
  33 
  

  

  The 
  resident 
  teal 
  of 
  Jamaica 
  probably 
  should 
  be 
  separated 
  subspe- 
  

   cifically 
  as 
  Querquedula 
  discors 
  inomata 
  (Gosse), 
  but 
  the 
  eastern 
  and 
  

   western 
  boundaries 
  of 
  this 
  form 
  remain 
  to 
  be 
  determined. 
  

  

  Winter 
  range. 
  — 
  Blue- 
  winged 
  teal 
  migrate 
  over 
  a 
  vast 
  extent 
  of 
  terri- 
  

   tory, 
  and 
  are 
  found 
  in 
  winter 
  throughout 
  northern 
  South 
  America 
  

   south 
  to 
  Brazil, 
  Ecuador, 
  Peru, 
  and 
  Chile. 
  They 
  occur 
  abundantly 
  in 
  

   Central 
  America, 
  Mexico, 
  and 
  the 
  West 
  Indies, 
  and 
  are 
  equally 
  com- 
  

   mon 
  during 
  the 
  winter 
  in 
  the 
  Gulf 
  States 
  and 
  north 
  to 
  North 
  Carolina. 
  

   In 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  Valley 
  few 
  remain 
  much 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  Gulf, 
  though 
  

   these 
  few 
  are 
  scattered 
  widely 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  southern 
  Indiana 
  and 
  southern 
  

   Illinois; 
  a 
  few 
  winter 
  in 
  Arizona, 
  and 
  the 
  small 
  number 
  of 
  Pacific 
  

   coast 
  birds 
  spend 
  the 
  winter 
  in 
  California 
  and 
  north 
  to 
  southern 
  

   British 
  Columbia. 
  

  

  North 
  of 
  North 
  Carolina 
  this 
  teal 
  can 
  hardly 
  be 
  called 
  a 
  common 
  

   winter 
  species, 
  though 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  rare 
  on 
  Chesapeake 
  Bay 
  and 
  win- 
  

   ters 
  even 
  as 
  far 
  north 
  as 
  Delaware. 
  This 
  species 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  least 
  

   hardy 
  of 
  our 
  ducks, 
  and 
  few 
  individuals 
  remain 
  where 
  there 
  is 
  cold 
  

   and 
  ice. 
  

  

  Spring 
  migration. 
  — 
  The 
  blue- 
  winged 
  teal 
  is 
  among 
  the 
  latest 
  ducks 
  

   to 
  migrate. 
  The 
  first 
  was 
  noted 
  at 
  Erie, 
  Pa., 
  March 
  27, 
  1898; 
  Tem- 
  

   pleton, 
  Mass., 
  April 
  1, 
  1898; 
  Prince 
  Edward 
  Island, 
  April 
  20, 
  1888. 
  

   In 
  central 
  Iowa, 
  where 
  the 
  hardy 
  ducks 
  appear 
  in 
  Februaiw, 
  the 
  blue- 
  

   winged 
  teal 
  was 
  noted 
  on 
  the 
  average 
  (ten 
  years) 
  March 
  26 
  (earliest, 
  

   March 
  18, 
  1899); 
  northern 
  Iowa, 
  April 
  4, 
  and 
  Heron 
  Lake, 
  Minn., 
  

   April 
  9. 
  The 
  records 
  of 
  Heron 
  Lake 
  are 
  quite 
  uniform 
  — 
  April 
  11, 
  

   1885; 
  April 
  11, 
  1886; 
  April 
  10, 
  1887; 
  April 
  8, 
  1888; 
  April 
  9, 
  1889; 
  

   April 
  7, 
  1890. 
  These 
  dates 
  indicate 
  less 
  variation 
  in 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  arrival 
  

   of 
  this 
  species 
  than 
  of 
  any 
  other. 
  The 
  blue-winged 
  teal 
  appears 
  in 
  

   southeastern 
  Nebraska, 
  March 
  28; 
  central 
  South 
  Dakota, 
  April 
  2; 
  

   central 
  North 
  Dakota, 
  April 
  12; 
  northwestern 
  Minnesota, 
  April 
  23; 
  

   Aweme, 
  Manitoba, 
  April 
  27. 
  

  

  In 
  southern 
  Texas 
  this 
  teal 
  becomes 
  common 
  in 
  spring 
  about 
  the 
  

   middle 
  of 
  March; 
  about 
  the 
  first 
  week 
  in 
  April 
  is 
  the 
  height 
  of 
  the 
  

   shooting 
  season 
  in 
  southern 
  Louisiana. 
  The 
  latest 
  migrants 
  have 
  

   been 
  noted 
  at 
  Gainesville, 
  Fla., 
  April 
  29, 
  1887; 
  Baltimore, 
  Md., 
  

   May 
  7, 
  1890; 
  New 
  Orleans, 
  La., 
  May 
  21, 
  1898; 
  San 
  Antonio, 
  Tex., 
  

   May 
  14, 
  1902. 
  Eggs 
  have 
  been 
  taken 
  at 
  Canton, 
  111., 
  May 
  16, 
  1897. 
  

   Eggs 
  just 
  hatching 
  were 
  found 
  on 
  the 
  Magdalen 
  Islands, 
  Gulf 
  of 
  St. 
  

   Lawrence, 
  June 
  16, 
  1900, 
  and 
  fresh 
  eggs 
  at 
  Waseca, 
  Minn., 
  June 
  1; 
  

   in 
  North 
  Dakota, 
  June 
  12; 
  and 
  at 
  Reaburn, 
  Manitoba, 
  June 
  4, 
  1894. 
  

  

  Fall 
  migration. 
  — 
  The 
  blue- 
  winged 
  teal 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  earliest 
  ducks 
  

   to 
  move 
  southward; 
  during 
  the 
  month 
  of 
  August 
  it 
  reappears 
  through- 
  

   out 
  the 
  northern 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  and 
  some 
  especially 
  early 
  

   birds 
  almost 
  reach 
  the 
  Gulf 
  of 
  Mexico. 
  During 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  fourteen 
  

   years 
  the 
  average 
  date 
  of 
  arrival 
  at 
  Alexandria, 
  Va., 
  was 
  August 
  31 
  

  

  