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Very abundant; summer resident; general distribution in the prairie regions; along the boundary, Mouse River, in fore part of August becomes very abundant; doubtless breeds (Coues). Winnipeg: Summer resident; abundant; breeding (Hine). Sparingly at Shoal Lake and Lake Winnipeg (Brewer). Swamp Island: 1885; breeds here; last seen August 26 (Plunkett). Shoal Lake, May 19, 1887 (Christy). Portage la Prairie: Very abundant; summer resident, and like the mallard nesting wherever it takes a fancy to do so; in 1884 first seen April 16 (Nash). Breeds abundantly around marshy ponds in the prairie country; exceedingly abundant in fall of 1880; rare in Assiniboine in September, 1881 (Macoun). Carberry: Common; breeding; Souris Plains, Turtle Mountain, Long River, Rapid City, and the whole south slope of Riding Mountain (Thompson). Dalton: 1889, first seen, one on April 18; next seen, May 15, when it became common; breeds here (Youmans). Shell River; 1885, first seen, a pair on May 2, afterwards every day; is common all summer and breeds here (Calcutt). Qu’Appelle: Common summer resident; breeds May 10 (Guernsey).

I have frequently remarked that during the breeding season this species may be seen coursing over and around the ponds in threes, and these when shot usually prove a male and two females. After dark they may be identified during these maneuvers by their swift flight and the peculiar chirping, almost a twittering, that they indulge in as they fly.

On August 19, 1882, at Markle’s Lake, shot a Blue-winged Teal. This sheet of water is not more than 3 acres; it has hard banks, almost entirely without rushes or other cover, and is a mile or more from the nearest pond. This duck is very abundant in the country, and I think it usually nests much farther from the water than any of its near congeners. Like the Green-wing it is a good diver, but it is less wary and more easily shot; it seems to prefer the smaller ponds and leaves the large sheets to the Mallard and other large ducks.