
i 
CTE CIN AMON MEN, AVAS (CVANOPTER A. 
ALLAN 
This is one of the few ducks that is 
confined to the Western portion of North 
America. In fact, it is the only fluviatile, 
or non-maritime duck whichis so restricted. 
Its Easternmost range overlaps the West- 
ern extension of thatoftheblack duck; but 
unlike the black duck it doe. not range far 
North. In British Columbia it is not found 
North of the 54th parallel. Although the 
male is such a conspicuous duck, the fe- 
BROOKS. 
Ten years ago the cinnamon teal was 
much more numerous in Southern British 
Columbia than at present, the Summer 
floods so common of late years having 
almost exterminated it in the Fraser val- 
ley. Their habit of nesting on low ground. 
as well as the late date at which they lay 
their eggs, insures the destruction of many 
nests by the June floods. 
In Southern British Columbia the cin- 

THE CINNAMON TEAL. 
male can hardly be told, even by an ex- 
pert, fromthe female ofthe blue wing teal. 
The male in Winter or Spring plumage 
is a very handsome bird and the affinity 
to the shoveller is strongly apparent, ¢s- 
pecially when handled in the flesh. It has 
the same yellow iris, steel blue wing cov- 
erts, lanceolate tertials, and to a consider- 
able extent the coloring of the body. The 
bill too, is long and heavy, though not ex- 
cessively spatulate. 
In habits the cinnamon teal resembles 
the blue wing, frequenting grassy and 
weedy ponds as a rule, in preference to 
muddy ones. When sitting among the 
red tinted leaves of the water smartweed. 
the male exhibits a singular instance of 
color protection, being more inconspicu- 
ous than his mate, 
namon generally arrives before the blue- 
wing, and I have noted it as early as the 
latter part of March. It is the first duck 
to leave in the fall, moving South as soon 
as the young are strong on the wing. 
In the male the iris is orange yeliow, 
changing to crimson an hour after death. 
The bill is black, feet ochre yellow, with 
membranes, and claws dusky. In the fe- 
male and young the iris js yellowish hazel, 
or brown, upper surface of bill dusky. 
lewer surface and feet varying from flesh 
color, to ochraceous yellow. It averages 
rather larger than the blue-wing teal, the 
bill being conspicuously longer, but this 
lest character is not so marked in females 
and young birds which can generally be 
told by their more fulvous coloration, 
especially on the jujulum. 
187 

