COMMON OR GREEN-WINGED TEAL 15 



weather as they are in Europe, in fact more so ; they are some of 

 the commonest of our migratory clucks, and are certainly the 

 most widely diffused, being found practically all over the Empire, 

 even penetrating to the Andamans and Nicobars, though ap- 

 parently not to Southern Tenasserim. They come in early, many 

 arriving in September, and some occasionally even before August 

 is out ; but October is, as usual with our migrants, the month for 

 the main body to arrive in. 



In the north-west, where they are most abundant, flocks of 

 thousands may be seen, but two or three dozen is a usual figure 

 for the flocks commonly met with, and even single birds as well 

 as pairs often turn up. Any sort of water may hold them, as 

 they are content with a very small area, but they like plenty of 

 cover, and lie fairly close, so that they afford frequent shots. 

 They swim and walk fairly well, but do not come on land much 

 for a surface-feeding duck ; their diving powers are nothing 

 extraordinary, but they are adepts at taking cover under water 

 when wounded, so that where there are plenty of weeds, &c., 

 they are hard enough to get hold of. 



Their flight is exceedingly fast, but like most small creatures, 

 furred as well as feathered, they are probably credited with more 

 speed than they actually possess, owing to the quickness of their 

 movements, which has a deceptive effect ; at any rate, the 

 shoveller and even the spot-bill, can give a flock of teal a lead. 

 Their really strong point on the wing is their power of wheeling 

 suddenly, which often proves too much both for the peregrine 

 falcon and for the human enemy with his gun. Their feeding- 

 time is mostly at night, and the food itself vegetable for the 

 most part, though small live things are not despised ; but Hume 

 argues reasonably that they must be mainly vegetarians, because 

 in the " tealeries " so common in upper India in his day the birds 

 throve on paddy and lucerne only, and kept their condition, if 

 well looked after, all through the hot weather and rains, when 

 they were much valued as food when butcher's meat was 

 unattainable. Hume indeed considered that a well-kept captive 

 teal was even better than a wild one, and the wild bird is 

 universally praised for its excellent qualities ; I do not know any 

 bird I like better myself, as there is something about it one does 



