92 
ANSERIFORMES 
One of the daintiest of the ducks. Its habit of flying in large flocks 
and its great speed on the wing make it well known to sportsmen. The 
ease with which it attains such high speed while other species seem to labour 
so strenuously is notable. 
“Teal, both Green- and Blue-winged, are birds of the smaller waters, 
especially of the shallow prairie sloughs. Of the two, the Green-winged is 
the more universal bird. It is the earlier migrant in the spring and remains 
north much later than its blue-winged relative in autumn. Most Blue- 
wings leave the prairies in September, the Green-wings remain into the 
next month. Both are much given to frequenting the shallows and con- 
gregating in sunning parties on mudbanks and sandbars. They are 
eagerly sought by sportsmen, for in spite of their very small size no other 
ducks are so fat and few so toothsome. Teal are shot much more easily 
than many other ducks on account of their manner of flying in compact 
masses and where their great speed gives them little advantage against the 
scatter gun.” 
140. Blue- winged Teal. la sarcelle a ailes bleues, Querquedula discors . 
L, 16. Plate VIII A. 
Distinctions. One of the smallest of our ducks. Small size and large area of chalky 
blue on wing, characteristics shared only by the Cinnamon Teal and the Shoveller. The 
latter is a very much larger bird. The former in adult male is too dissimilar for any con- 
fusion, being solid cinnamon-rufous almost all over. Females of Blue-winged and Cinna- 
mon Teals are so much alike that probably some specimens will be impossible of separation 
by any known test. As a rule the female Blue-winged is less heavily and less broadly 
streaked or overwashed on breast and flanks and the bill averages shorter and relatively 
slightly broader at the base. 
Field Marks. Small size and large area of chalky blue on wings and white underwing 
surface like a Mallard, separate from all but the Cinnamon Teal. In adult males the 
difference in general coloration of these two species is too great for serious confusion. 
The females probably cannot be told apart in life and generally can be recognized only 
when accompanied by a mate whose identity is evident. 
Nesting. On the ground amidst grass. 
Distribution. Across the continent. Rather scarce in extreme east. Common through 
the prairie sections, rarer in the interior of British Columbia, and practically absent from 
the Canadian west coast. Breeds north to Great Slave Lake. 
141. Cinnamon Teal, la sarcelle cannelle. Querquedula cyanoptera. L, 16. 
One of the four smallest of our ducks. Adult male: uniform rich cinnamon-red head, neck, 
shoulders, breast, and flanks. Green speculum. A large area of fore-wing chalky blue as 
in the Blue-winged Teal. Female: hardly separable from female of that species. 
Distinctions. The male, with its strongly red coloration similar to the Ruddy Duck, 
but with wholly red head and blue wing patch, is easily recognized. The female can not 
always be separated from the female Blue-winged Teal. As a general rule it is more 
coarsely and heavily striped and overwashed with a richer brown on breast and flanks, and 
its bill is longer and more slender in proportion than in that species. These characteristics 
are not infallible and often it can only be identified by an accompanying mate. The 
common rust staining of the Blue, or even the Green-winged, Teal has often been the basis 
of records of this species. 
Field Marks. Small size, general redness of body, white underwing surface like a 
Mallard, and chalky blue wing patches for the male. The female can hardly be distin- 
guished in life from the female Blue-winged Teal. 
Distribution. The west coast of southern British Columbia southward, and adjoining 
interior. There are a few substantiated records from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Mani- 
toba, where it should be looked for with care but females identified with caution. 
Nesting. Nest of grasses, on the ground. In some cases at considerable distance 
from water. 
