(Anas discors)
The blue-winged teal is only a straggler north of Lower California,
Arizona and Mexico. In Mexico and Lower California I know them to be
quite common, and reasonably plentiful in some parts of Arizona.
The blue-winged teal is a plumper bird than either of the other
species, and not near so handsomely marked. It is a rapid flyer and
affords good shooting in those sections where it is plentiful.
=Color=--Male--Head, a glossy purplish gray, darker on top; between
the eye and the bill is a white crescent-shaped mark about one-fourth
wider in its center than the eye; the wing-coverts are blue like those
of the cinnamon teal; back, dark gray; under parts, gray, spotted with
black; speculum, rich green; bill, black, and legs and feet, yellow.
Female--The female resembles the female of the cinnamon teal; but
unlike the cinnamon it has no dark markings under the chin, or any of
the cinnamon color faintly seen on the cinnamon female. The bill also
is much shorter, and the legs are of a yellowish tinge.
=Nest and Eggs=--The nests are much the same as the other members of
the teal family. The eggs about a dozen in number are pale buff.
=Measurements=--Total length, 15 inches; wing, about 7, and bill,
1-1/2 inches.
[Illustration: SHOVELLER OR SPOON-BILL
(Spatula clypeata)]