136 BRITAIN^S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 



THE TEAL 



(Nettion crecca). 

 Plate 45. 



Another common Duck, much smaller than the Mallard, 

 is the Teal. The drake is an extremely handsome little 

 fellow. His mate is very soberly coloured, but has the 

 characteristic green ' speculum ' on the wing. The Teals 

 form a genus of world-wide distribution, and some of the 

 other species are of interest to us because they are freely 

 imported, and, like our own bird, are common on orna- 

 mental waters. For this purpose they are general 

 favourites, not only on account of their appearance and 

 their tameness, but because of the little trouble they 

 give as regards feeding, and the small space of water 

 with which they are content. A pair of pinioned Teals 

 will readily nest on a pond of veiy small size, if they 

 are provided with a suitable piece of cover free from 

 disturbance. 



Our indigenous Teal is widely distributed throughout 

 these islands. It has nested in the Hebrides, but is rare 

 there at any season. Otherwise it is a common and wide- 

 spread nesting bird throughout Scotland, including the 

 northern isles. In Ireland it is abundant, nesting in 

 every county. In England and Wales it is more 

 sparingly distributed as a breeding species, especially to- 

 wards the south. From September onwards large numbers 

 arrive from the Continent, and some or all of them 

 remain with us till the following spring. About a score 

 of Teals, marked on the autumn passage in the duck- 

 decoys of south-western Denmark, have been obtained 

 in the British Isles, for the most part in the south of 



