CLUCKIiNG TEAL 19 



The female is much hke that of the common teal, but is 

 larger, with much shorter bill in proportion, and a very distinct 

 white patch at its base; moreover, the wing bar is mostly black 

 and white, with only a narrow streak of green, and this running 

 vertically parallel with the white border, not longitudinally. 

 The male in undress differs from her in having the lower back 

 plain brown as in the full plumage, not mottled. For some time 

 after he loses this eclipse dress in the autumn his beautiful 

 head markings are much obscured by brown edgings to the 

 feathers, although the strange pattern is quite recognizable. 



This teal is not only larger than the common and garganey 

 teals, longer-tailed and shorter-billed, but stands much higher 

 on the legs, and runs very actively. The loud clucking note of 

 the drake, which sounds like mok-mok, is most characteristic, 

 and the bird can never hold his tongue for long. lie displays 

 in a curious way, generally on land so far as I have seen ; first 

 raising his head and erecting the plumage on it, so that it seems 

 much larger, and then jerking it back on to his shoulders, 

 clucking vigorously the while. 



The clucking teal is an eastern Asiatic bird, for though 

 breeding freely in Siberia and sometimes occurring to the 

 westward in Europe, its chief winter haunts are Japan and 

 China, where it must be extremely abundant, judging from 

 the thousands of live birds that have lately been exported to 

 Europe and even Australia of late years. At the time of writing 

 it is hardly dearer in England than common teal, and the 

 dealers have scores at a time. Less than a dozen specimens 

 have been taken in India, and these chiefly of recent years ; 

 but one was got in the Calcutta Market in 1844. I also got 

 the first female recorded there. No doubt this sex has been 

 often overlooked, for all the other records seem to be of males, 

 and these have been got as far apart as Gujarat and 

 Dibrugarh . 



