: o ; , pec wee ac ‘ , a ‘ke
tes in immense numbers, in decoys it does not fly in such large flocks as many other Ducks, from
congregates ° . :

_

t ty to twenty-five Teal being a considerable number. I have once known of a flock of sixty, but this is
wen J O 2 - =

a very singular occurrence.

Unlike most other kinds of birds, all the Ducks undergo a second seasonal change, and the Teal among
their number: during the spring and the early part of f the summer the male is dressed in gay attr
which, after the breeding-season, is exchanged for a more sombre livery, so closely assimilating ~ that a
the female that it is not easy to distinguish one sex from the other; this plumage is carried until late in
the autumn, when it is again exchanged for the gayer dress.

The flight of the Teal is dashing and spirited; it rises directly from the water, and flies off in a
straight line, or threads with vast facility through the branches of the alders and other trees growing by the
sides of the little nooks and secluded places in which it is frequently fushed. Wonderfully rapid, indeed,
is the flight of this bird when fairly on the wing, or when it comes sweeping round the sportsman, who
may be on the gui vive for a shot, and who must be quick, indeed, if he wishes to bag any of the flight.

On the water the Teal is light and buoyant, swimming high above the surface, and displaying its fine
plumage to the greatest advantage, particularly the beautiful buff stripe near the scapularies of the male; on
the land it has none of the awkward gait of the diving-ducks, but walks with ease and comparative elegance
of movement.

The Teal readily becomes semi-domesticated, and will breed in the ponds and lakes of the pleasure-
ground, even in such situations as the Zoological Gardens in the Regent’s Park. The decoys, in which the
greater number sent to our markets are taken, differ much in their character ; some are great open sheets
of water, like Fritton in Suffolk, while others comprise a number of ponds, as at Nacton in the same
county. In that first named, Mallards, Pintails, Widgeon, and Teal are often to be seen indiscriminately
mingled; but at Nacton it is far otherwise: there each pond is tenanted almost exclusively by a single
species, the Teal always going to the smallest and the highest up the glen—a circumstance of great advan-
tage to the owner, G. Towline, Esq., who, through his clever decoy-man, Skelton, can obtain a dozen Teal
any morning he pleases, without disturbing the Mallards and other birds below. I shall not easily forget
how much I was interested by the sight presented to me on visiting this peculiar decoy, nor Mr. Tomline’s
kindness in forwarding to me from time to time examples of all the Duck tribe, taken therein in their finest

states of plumage, for the furtherance of the present work—an act of courtesy and liberality which I have
much pleasure in here acknowledging.
‘The well-known Teal,” says Mr. Jerdon, “is one of the most abundant of the visitors to India. It

lrequents tanks and rivers, often in immense flocks. Large numbers are netted or caught in various ways to

supply the Tealeries. It is strictly a night-feeding species ; and about sunset immense flocks may be seen

and heard flying in different directions to their feeding-grounds.” In © unningham’s ‘ Ladakh, Physical,
Statistical, and Historical,’ j

t is mentioned that he * uot three Teal on the S Sara] Dal, a small lake at the
head of the river Bhaga, at an altitude of 16,000 feet.’

um, St. John, speaking of the Teal as seen by him in
‘can scarcely be called a winter bird with 1

That ardent lover of n; iture, and excellent sportsm:

S ‘
utherlandshire, says it us, although occasionally a pair or two
appear; but in spring they come in numbers to breed and

rear their tiny young in the swamps and lochs.
Nothing can exceed the be uty and ne

itness of this miniature Duck. It flies with great swiftness, rising

, and dropping as quickly after a short flight. In spring the drake has
at other times the note is a loud quack,

sudde nly into the air when disturbed
a peculiar whistle : I
é A pair of Teal, if undisturbed, will return year

Y ft _r ar tc > j f i
ifter year to the Like the Wild Duck, they sometimes hatch their

same pool for the purpose of breeding.

young a considerable distance from the water, and lead

on them immediately to it. In some of the mountain
lakes the Teal breed in great

numbers. When shooting

| August, I have occasionally seen a perfect
from some grassy loch,”
ils

cloud of these birds rise

vgs are of a lengthened form, me;

| 3 ‘suring one inch and nine lines in lenge
in breadth : they are of

a cre Lin y white, and elg
pieces of flags and vy: irious kinds of he rbacec
In North America our Teal is

resembles it

th by one inch and four lines

ht to twelve in numbe ‘r. The nest is composed of grasses

us plants, and lined with down and fe
represented by-a dis
; but the m; iles of the Transat]

athers.
tinct species, the Querquedula Carolinensis, which much
on the bacl itl antic bird are easily recognized by the absence of the buff stripes
| Lcreene wane le presence of light colour : ! :
: a ured crescent on either » of the hro: 9 sek > the
wing, ither side of the breast, just in front of the
he accompanying Plate represents a male and a brood

figure

of young, of the size ife, wi a reduced
of a female in the distance. o cmd