A Synopsis of the Birds of North America

by John James Audubon

Male with the feathers of the head and upper and hind part of neck elongated and incurved, inner secondaries very broad, tail much rounded, of sixteen feathers; bill bright red at the base, yellow on the sides, ridge and unguis black; feet greenish-yellow; upper part of head and loral space deep green; below the eye a patch of dark purple, behind it a larger patch of the same colour; sides of neck, its hind part under the crest, and the middle all round, very dark purple; a narrow line along the base of the upper mandible and over the eye, meeting on the occiput, pure white, as are some of the feathers of the crest; another from behind the eye meeting below the occiput, and including several of the lower elongated feathers; throat pure white, with a process on each side a little beyond the eye, and another nearly half-way down the neck; sides of the neck and its lower part anteriorly reddish-purple, each feather on the latter with a triangular white tip; middle of the neck behind, back and rump, very dark reddish-brown, the latter deeper, and tinged with green; upper tail-coverts and tail greenish-black; some of the lateral tail-coverts dull reddish-purple, a few on either side with their central filaments light red; smaller wing-coverts, alula, and primaries dull greyish-brown, most of the latter, with part of the outer web greyish-white, and the inner toward the end darker and glossed with green; secondary quills tipped with white, the outer webs green, with purple reflections, those of the inner secondaries and scapulars velvet-black, their inner webs partially glossed and changing to green; the broad feathers anterior to the wings white, terminated with black; breast and abdomen greyish-white; feathers under the wings yellowish-grey, minutely undulated with black, and tipped with a white and two black bands; lower wing-coverts and axillar feathers white, barred with greyish-brown; lower tail-coverts dull greyish-brown. Female with the bill blackish-brown, the feet dull green; upper part of head dusky glossed with green, sides of head and neck, with hind part of latter, light brownish-grey; throat white, but without the lateral processes; fore part of neck below and sides light yellowish-brown, mottled with dark greyish-brown, as are the sides under the wings; breast and abdomen white, the former spotted with brown; hind neck, back, and rump dark brown, glossed with green and purple; wings as in the male, but the speculum less, and the secondaries externally faint reddish-purple, the velvet-black of the male diminished to a few narrow markings; tail dark brown, glossed with green; lower tail-coverts pale greyish-brown, mottled with white.

Male, 20¹/₂, 28. Female, 19¹/₂.

Breeds throughout the country from Texas to the Columbia, and eastward to Nova Scotia. Fur Countries. Accumulates in the Southern Districts in winter.

Summer Duck or Wood Duck, Anas sponsa, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. viii. p. 97.

Dendronessa sponsa, Summer Duck, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 446.

Summer or Wood Duck, Anas sponsa, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 394.

Wood Duck, Anas sponsa, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 52; v. v. p. 618.

393. 8. Anas Carolinensis, Steph. American Green-winged Teal.

Plate CCXXVIII. Male and Female.

Male with the feathers of the head and upper part of hind neck elongated; tail short, acuminate, of sixteen feathers; bill black, feet light bluish-grey; head and upper part of neck chestnut-red; a broad band, narrowing backwards, from the eye, down the back of the neck, deep shining green, edged with black below, under which is a whitish line, meeting before the eye another that curves forward and downward to the angle of the mouth; chin brownish-black, as are the feathers at the base of the upper mandible; upper parts and flanks beautifully undulated with brownish-black and white lines; anterior to the wings a short broad transverse band of white; wings brownish-grey; speculum in its lower half velvet-black, the upper bright green, changing to purple, and edged above with black, behind margined with white, before with reddish-white; tail brownish-grey, the feathers margined with paler; upper coverts brownish-black, edged with light yellowish-grey; lower part of neck partly barred as behind, yellowish-white and spotted with black, as is the fore part of the breast; abdomen white, faintly barred with grey; a patch of black under the tail; lateral tail-coverts cream-coloured, the larger black, with broad white margins and tips. Female with the head and neck streaked with dark brown and light red, the fore neck whitish, the upper parts mottled with dark brown, the anterior feathers barred, the posterior margined with yellowish-white; the speculum less extensive; the lower part of fore neck tinged with yellowish-red, and mottled with dark brown, as are the sides; the rest of the lower parts white. This species differs from Anas Crecca chiefly in having a white band before the wing, which the European bird has not, while the latter has the greater part of the outer webs of most of the scapulars white, there being none of that colour on those of our bird.

Male, 14³/₄, 24. Female, 13³/₄, 22¹/₂.

Dispersed throughout the country during autumn and spring. Extremely abundant during winter in all the Southern States and Texas. Breeds sparingly along the Great Lakes, and far north.

Green-winged Teal, Anas Crecca, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 101.

Anas Crecca, Bonap. Syn. p. 386.

American Teal, Anas Crecca, var. Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 400.

Anas Crecca, Green-winged Teal, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 400.

Green-winged Teal, Anas Crecca, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 218; v. v. p. 616.