(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.
=Measurements=--Total length, 16 inches; wing, 7-1/2; bill, 1-3/4.
[Illustration: BLUE-WINGED TEAL (Anas discors)]