Part 10

The gadwall was at one time quite plentiful on the shooting grounds of California, south of San Francisco; but, on account of our season opening later and closing earlier than in years past, few are killed now. The gadwall is really a southern duck, coming into the United States to breed. When the California season opened on the first of September and closed the first of April, there were plenty of gadwall found on its ponds in the early fall and late in the spring. Now, but few are killed except in the southern part of the state. Such as are killed are generally found on the mountain lakes and ponds of the higher valleys. On the waters of Mexico and Lower California, however, they are met with in good numbers.

The gadwall, however, migrates as far north as British Columbia for breeding purposes as well as breeding on the mountain lakes of all the territory through which it ranges.

=Color=--Male--Head, light brown, finely mottled with dark brown and black; neck and breast, finely streaked with wavy black and white; under parts, grayish white; rump and tail, black; speculum, black and white, with the lesser wing-coverts chestnut; feet, orange, and bill nearly white.

Female--Closely resembling the male but with very little chestnut on the wings.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest which is usually made a little way back from the water is lined with dead grass, and contains from ten to twelve eggs of a light buff color.

=Measurements=--Total length, about 19 inches; wing, 10, and bill, 1.60.

THE WIDGEON

(Anas Americana)

The widgeon is one of the most common ducks of the Coast, both north and south. As well as being one of the most plentiful of the interior lakes and ponds, they are found in great numbers on the salt marshes and tide overflows, and even form great dark patches on the ocean as they take their midday rest on its bosom a mile or so beyond the surf. They breed on the mountain lakes and streams all along the Coast from Mexico north.

The widgeon begins its migrations early in the fall and great numbers find their way as far south as the Coast marshes and lower lakes of Mexico. They feed largely on the plains and frequent the fields in search of grain. In migrating or flying from pond to pond they usually go in quite large flocks.

=Color=--Male--Head, pinkish white on top, with a greenish streak from the eye back to the ociput; below this the head and neck are speckled with black and white; back and wing-coverts, gray with fine markings of black; breast, a light brick red with a purplish cast; speculum, black and green. Axillars, white with dark shafts.

Female--The female resembles the male in all but the green on the head and the reddish color of the breast.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is generally built in some tuft of grass or thick weeds near some water's edge. The eggs average about a dozen and are of very light brownish white.

=Measurements=--Total length, 18 inches; wing 9-1/2, and bill, 1-1/2.

GREEN-WINGED TEAL

(Anas carolinensis)

The green-winged teal is another variety that is very plentiful on the Coast, breeding in great numbers on our mountain lakes and along the streams from Mexico to Alaska, and even to considerable extent on the lower marshes, especially from central California north. While many of these are killed on the salt marshes and tide lands, they are more generally frequenters of the inland ponds and overflows. Nesting late and maturing early, they are both a late and early duck on our shooting grounds, and remain constantly with us during the whole winter. Shooting on a pass over which the teal are flying from one pond to another furnishes about the finest sport of the duck shooter's life. In such cases they come in small flocks, and single birds must be selected; being a small mark and very rapid flyers they require a good lead and quick work. In fact, a brace of green-winged teal with a pressing engagement at the next pond makes about as pretty a target as the sportsman often fires at.

The green-winged teal, like the widgeon, feeds a great deal on the plains and in the fields.

=Color=--Male--Top of head and neck, brown of a chestnut tinge, the feathers forming almost a crest; a broad stripe of green runs back from the eye to the neck; back and sides, mottled gray; breast, buff, shaded to white on the abdomen and spotted with black; speculum, green.

Female--The top of the head of the female is a rusty brown, and with a very faint stripe on the sides; upper parts, gray, spotted with black; speculum, green.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest of the green-winged teal is generally a little more carefully made than most of the ground nesting ducks. The eggs average about ten and are of a light brownish buff.

=Measurements=--The green-winged teal is the smallest of the fresh-water ducks. Total length, about 14 inches; wing, 7-1/4; bill, 1-1/4 inches.

THE CINNAMON TEAL

(Anas cyanoptera)

The cinnamon teal, very commonly called the blue-winged teal by the sportsmen of the Coast, is only a late fall and early spring bird on our shooting grounds north of Lower California and Mexico. While the cinnamon teal has a blue wing there is no resemblance between the male cinnamon and the male blue-winged. The females of the two species, however, have a marked resemblance in color but a wide difference in shape of body. The female cinnamon teal is much darker on the throat than the blue-winged female, and generally shows a considerable of the cinnamon color of the male. The male of the blue-winged teal partakes more of the grayish color of the green-winged variety and has a white crescent in front of the eye. The northern limit of the cinnamon teal is about the latitude of San Francisco so far as their appearance on our shooting grounds is concerned. A few, however, go farther north for breeding purposes. They are quite common in the southern part of California, where they come to breed. They winter in Mexico, Lower California and Arizona in great numbers. They nest on the mountain lakes and along the mountain streams of California and even as far north as Oregon. In southern California they nest along the salt-water marshes, especially those of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.

=Color=--Male--The male bird cannot well be mistaken for that of any other species. The general color being a dark cinnamon, or in fact much nearer a chestnut in color; the head being somewhat darker than the rest of the bird; the upper wing-coverts being blue, form a large patch of blue at the shoulders when the wing is at rest; the speculum, like that of all the teal is green.

Female--The female resembles the female of the blue-winged teal, but is a little larger with a longer and slimmer body; the chin is dusky and the throat is speckled; the breast also has a slight tinge of the cinnamon color of the male.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nests are built generally in long grass patches of the low grounds bordering the streams and lakes and even the salt marshes. The eggs which average about a dozen are of a peculiar light creamy color with a faint bluish tinge.