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others round about. Eventually the duck goes off with a single 

 drake, and remains strictly paired throughout the breeding season, 

 and one never observes polyandry in the Teal as one occasionally 

 does in the Shoveller. The attitudes of the drake during court- 

 ship are extremely curious ; he may, apparently, be casually 

 swimming about near the duck when he will suddenly sit up in 

 the water and run his bill down his breast, at the same time 

 emitting a beautiful double whistle, then he suddenly jerks his 

 head back and tail up, so that the back of the head touches the 

 tail over the middle of his back, at the same time showing the 

 beautiful green speculum. I have never been able to satisfy 

 myself whether he lowers the flank feathers or raises the scapu- 

 lars to do this, as the motion is a quick one. The nest is a very 

 pretty one for a duck, and is generally placed at some distance 

 from the water, either in heather or gorse. I have met with Teal 

 breeding in this county (Norfolk) near a small pond, 20 yards 

 from the high road, on a heathery common. The eggs are very 

 pretty, rather transparent, and the shells have a curious soapy 

 feeling. I cannot state the period of incubation for certain, as 

 none of the eggs, which from time to time I have attempted to 

 hatch, have come off, either from being frosted, or else slightly 

 incubated, before being sent to me, but I believe it to be twenty- 

 one days. The dncks are splendid mothers, and even the drake, 

 on occasion, will show great anxiety for the welfare of his family. 

 The only hybrid with the Teal that I have seen was between the 

 Teal drake and a wild duck: this cross was at one time con- 

 sidered a separate species and named the Bi maculated duck. 



Teal seem fonder of stagnant pools with fringes of sedge, 

 and holes in bogs rather than of large sheets of water, and are 

 confirmed mudlarks, paddling about and guttering in the oozy 

 mud, apparently with great enjoyment. Teal in confinement do 

 well on wheat and barley, and are very fond of buckwheat, and in 

 the winter chopped turnip is good. They will thrive with very 

 little water, and I recommend anyone with a large aviary (wader 

 aviary for choice) to keep a pair of these delightful little birds 

 full-winged. I have had a pair since last August, fnll-winged in 

 my wader aviary, where they fly about with great agility and 

 never knock themselves about against the wire, which I rather 



