205 
BI-UE- WINGED TEAL. 
The female has the head slightly crested; crown, dark 
f^*l*le ; behind the eye, a bar of white ; chin and throat, 
I]/ ® inches, also white ; head and neck, dark drab ; 
dusky brown, marked with large triangular spots 
U '''liite ; back, dark glossy bronze brown, with some 
and greenish reflections. Speculum of the wings 
i,Mv the same as in the male, but the fine penciling 
ii>e sides, and the long luiir-like tail-coverts, are 
^•^ting ; the tail is also shorter. 
!265. JXJS mscoBS, linn^eus a-n-d wilson. 
BLUE-WINGED TEAL. 
'ONj plate LXVIII. FIG» IV.— EDINBURGH COLLEGE MUSEUM. 
The hlue-wiiwed teal is the first of its tribe that 
"ks, 
‘'fns to 
the autumn from its breeding place in 
y north. They are usually seen early in September, 
y®"? the shores of the Delaivare, where they sit on the 
(I**** close to the edge of the water, so crowded together 
the gunmu's often kill great numbers at a single 
j*''i\arge. When a flock is discovered thus sitting and 
li '"‘illy themselves, the experienced gunner runs his 
iiliH "" nsinn'® n** s<nne distance below or above them, 
H getting out, pushes her before him over the slippery 
111 . ’ concealing himself all the while behind her ; by 
j ** Hiethod he <'an sometimes approach n-ithin twenty 
of the flock, among which he generally makes 
«li? ‘^laughter. They fly rapidly, and, when they 
Jo'nt, drop down suddenly, like the snipe or woodcock, 
V^kig the reeds or on the mud. They feed cliiefly on 
f^iic'able food, and arc eagerly fond of the seeds of the 
or wild oats. Their flesh is excellent, and, after 
L*" residence for a short time among the reeds, 
Conips very fat. As the first frosts come on, they 
tii^"*cd to the south, being a delicate bird, very suscep- 
iij of cold. They abound in the inundated rice fields 
ill , Southern States, where vast numbers are taken 
a '*'*‘l>s placed on small dry eminences that here and 
^re rise above the water. These places are strewed 
