and Smith Island areas during the years 1950- 
58 came from 20 indirect band recoveries 
(table 75), All the recovereis were of birds 
banded between September 11 and March 4, 
Three-fourths of the kill was in the mid- 
Atlantic states. The kill in Maryland was 
only one-fifth of the total. The eastern Great 
Lakes area apparently was the mostimportant 
harvest area along the migration routes. 
GREEN-WINGED TEAL 
Anas carolinensis Gmelin 
The Green-winged Teal is a common fall 
and spring transient in the tidal marshes of 
the Upper Chesapeake region. It is present 
occasionally in other aquatic habitats. Smaller 
numbers also winter inthe region, particularly 
in the extensive estuarine bay marshes of the 
Blackwater-Nanticoke and Lower Eastern 
Shore sections. The fall migration usually 
is during the period of September 5-15 to 
December 1-10, with the peak between October 
10 and November 25. The normal spring 
migration extends from February 25 ~ March 
5 to May 1-10, with the peak occurring be- 
tween March 10 and April 20. 
Habitats 
Green-winged Teal are characteristic in- 
habitants of tidal creeks and ponds of es- 
tuarine bay marshes and estuarine river 
marshes. They ordinarily seem to prefer 
creeks and ponds that are bordered by ex- 
posed expanses of mud at low tide. Oftenthere 
are large numbers in the marshes and adjoin- 
ing impoundments of the Coastal section. 
Scattered flocks or individuals occasionally 
occur along the margins of the estuarine 
bays and on interior impoundments. 
Seasonal distribution during the 1958-59 
season is shown in table 76. The coastal 
salt marshes and adjoining impoundments 
were especially important during late fall and 
early spring, but apparently were not used in 
winter. The estuarine bay marshes and es- 
tuarine river marshes were also of major 
importance during the fall and spring, and 
certain areas, particularly the salt estuarine 
bay marshes, were inhabited in winter. 
Biogeographic Sections 
Because of difficulties in censusing Green- 
winged Teal from the air, fairly largenumbers 
often are missed during regular aerial surveys. 
The intensive surveys in 1958-59, however, 
covered the Upper Chesapeake region in suf- 
ficient detail so that it was possible to obtain 
index figures that are believed to be fairly 
reliable. Results of these seasonal surveys 
are shown in table 77, 
42 
During the fall migration period, over three- 
fourths of the Green-winged Teal were in 
the Blackwater-Nanticoke and Coastal sec- 
tions, and fairly large numbers were in the 
Patuxent River and Lower Eastern Shore 
sections. The greater part of the spring 
population also was in the Blackwater-Nanti- 
coke and Coastal sections, and most of the 
remaining birds were in the Choptank River 
and Lower Eastern Shore sections, Wintering 
birds were restricted to the Lower Eastern 
Shore and Blackwater-Nanticoke sections. Im- 
portant local concentration areas for this 
species include the lower Assateague Island 
area, upper Nanticoke River marsh, lower 
Blackwater-Nanticoke marsh, upper Black- 
water marsh, Pocomoke Sound marsh, Smith 
Island, upper Choptank River marsh, and 
Patuxent River marsh. 
Food Habits 
The gullet and gizzard food contents of 
47 Green-winged Teal were examined. Loca~ 
tions and results for 42 are shown in tables 
78-79, Others included one shot in the coastal 
marshes in late fall, two shot along the Bush 
River freshwater estuary in April, and two 
taken on interior impoundments in March. 
Seeds of Olney three-square and widgeon- 
grass, amphipods, and various small gastro- 
pods were the principal foods of the birds 
from the estuarine bay marsh (table 78), Seeds 
of dotted smartweed were taken most com- 
monly by birds from the estuarine river 
marshes; other foods taken often were seeds 
of softstem bulrush, river bulrush, halberd- 
leaf tearthumb, and arrowleaftearthumb (table 
79). The single bird from the coastal marshes 
had fed entirely on bait, chiefly sorghum and 
wheat. The two birds from the Bush River 
estuary had fed chiefly on the oogonia of musk- 
grass. The two birds from interior impound- 
ments had taken seeds of sedge, largeseed 
smartweed and common beggartick. 
Local Distribution of Hunting Kill 
Information concerning local distribution of 
the hunting kill of Green-winged Teal within 
the Upper Chesapeake region was obtained 
through an analysis of the distribution of 12 
weighted recoveries of birds that had been 
banded outside of Maryland and Virginia. 
These recoveries were reported from the 
Upper Chesapeake region during eight of the 
years between 1934 and 1957. 
The distribution of the kill based on these 
weighted recoveries was: Lower Eastern 
Shore section, 44%; Coastal section, 25%; 
Blackwater-Nanticoke section 19%; Choptank 
River section, 6%; and Patuxent River section, 
6%. The distribution of the kill as indicated 
here, although based on very little data, 
