A Synopsis of the Birds of North America

by John James Audubon

394. 9. Anas discors, Linn. Blue-winged Teal.

Plate CCCXIII. Male and Female.

Male with the feathers of the head and hind neck slightly elongated, the tail rounded, acuminate, of fourteen feathers; bill bluish-black; feet dull yellow; upper part of head black; a semilunar white patch on the side of the head before the eye, margined before and behind with black, the rest of the head and the anterior parts of the neck purplish-blue, with purplish-red reflections; lower hind neck and fore part of back brownish-black, glossed with green, each feather with a curved band of pale reddish-buff, and a line or band of the same in the centre, the hind part of the back greenish-brown, the feathers edged with paler; smaller wing-coverts light blue; alula, primary coverts, and primary quills greyish-brown, edged with pale bluish; outer secondaries of the same colour, those of the speculum duck-green, changing to blue and bronze, with a narrow line of white along their terminal margin; the inner greenish-black on the outer web, greenish-brown on the inner, with a central line and narrow external margin of pale reddish-buff; the more elongated scapulars similar, but some of them margined with greenish-blue; secondary coverts greenish-brown, the outer tipped with white, the inner with blue; tail-feathers chocolate-brown, slightly glossed with green, their margin buffy; lower parts pale reddish-orange, shaded on the breast with purplish-red, and thickly spotted with black, the number of spots on each feather varying from eight to twenty-five, those on the upper and hind parts of the sides running into transverse bars; axillar feathers, some of the lower wing-coverts, and a patch on the side of the rump pure white; lower tail-coverts brownish-black. Female with the upper parts blackish-brown, the lower lighter, the feathers edged with greyish-white, the throat and lore whitish; the smaller wing-coverts light blue, but the scapulars without that colour.

Male, 16, 31¹/₄. Female, 15, 24.

Breeds in Texas and westward. Great Lakes. Fur Countries. Columbia River. Very abundant in autumn and spring in the Middle Atlantic Districts, as well as in the interior. Abundant also in all the Southern States.

Blue-winged Teal, Anas discors, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 74.

Anas discors, Bonap. Syn. p. 385.

Anas discors, Blue-winged Teal, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 444.

Blue-winged Teal, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 397.

Blue-winged Teal, Anas discors, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 111.

395. 10. Anas clypeata, Linn. Shoveller Duck.—Micoine.

Plate CCCXXVII. Male and Female.

Male with the bill longer than the head, depressed and much widened towards the end, where its breadth is doubled; laminæ of the upper mandible very numerous, prolonged beyond the edges and tapering to a point, unless at the commencement of its broadest part; tail rounded, of fourteen acute feathers; bill greyish-black; feet vermilion; head and upper part of neck deep green with purple reflections; a longitudinal band on the hind neck and the back, greyish-brown, the feathers edged with paler; rump and upper tail-coverts greenish-black; anterior scapulars white, posterior light blue on the outer web, longitudinally banded with white and greenish-black on the inner; smaller wing-coverts light blue; alula, primary coverts and quills blackish-brown, their shafts white; outer secondaries greyish-brown, eight of them externally of a rich duck-green, the inner greenish-black, with a longitudinal white streak; secondary coverts broadly tipped with white; tail-feathers greyish-brown, margined with reddish-white; lower part of neck pure white; breast and middle part of abdomen dull purplish-chestnut; a large patch of white on each side of the rump, with a band of the same towards the tail; lower tail-coverts greenish-black; axillaries and lower wing-coverts pure white. Female with the bill much less dilated, and the laminæ less elongated; the bill dull green; feathers of the upper parts blackish-brown, edged with light reddish-brown; throat and sides of the head light reddish-brown, which is the prevailing colour over the lower part of the neck, part of the breast, and the sides, of which, however, the feathers are edged with dusky, middle of breast whitish; smaller wing-coverts dull brownish-grey; alula and primaries as in the male; inner secondaries brownish-black, speculum as in the male but paler, and changing to blue.

Male, 20¹/₂, 31¹/₂. Female, 17, 29¹/₂.