Anas crecca
Order Anseriformes
Family Anatidae
Subfamily Anatinae
♂ Adult male.— Head chiefly chestnut; chin black, a broad stripe from eye metallic-green, ending in a black tuft on hind neck; upper back and flanks gray, finely barred with black, like a guinea hen; a white band in front of bend of wing; lower back brown; speculum metallic-green, edged with black, and, forward, with a bit of light chestnut; upper breast reddish-buff, with round black spots, rest of lower parts whitish; under tail-coverts black; bill black; legs and feet dark brown.
♀ Adult female.— Top of head and back dusky-brownish, the feathers of the back edged with buff; throat buffy; speculum metallic-green, a stripe of white tinged with chestnut forward; breast buff, spotted with blackish; rest of under parts whitish; bill brown; legs and feet brown.
♂ Immature male.— Similar to female, but under parts chiefly white.
The Green-winged Teal is a migrant through New York and New England, and a winter visitant in the vicinity of New York city. It occurs as a migrant in April, and in September and October, alighting in inland ponds and marshes, often associating with the preceding species and with Black Duck. It has become rare of late years, and, except in the wilder portions of Maine, would hardly be observed, except by constant visits to gunners’ stands. An adult male is readily distinguished by the chestnut head with the green and black stripe behind the eye. A female or immature bird would be recognized as a teal by its small size, and as belonging to this species if the green on the wing can be made out. The adult Blue-winged Teal also has some green on the wing, but a larger amount of blue.
Hoffmann – A Guide to the Birds of New England and Eastern New York (1904)