NETTION CRECCA CRECCA 207 



many hnndreds, and frequently of thousands. la tlie Sundevbands 

 I think I have seen as many as 500 in a flock : on the famous Chilka 

 Lake I have been told of their rising in vast flocks which must have 

 been nearly 8,000 strong, and from other parts of India reports are 

 given of flocks numbering hundreds. 



The most common-sized flock all over their range may be some- 

 where between twenty and forty, and in Southern India — i.e., from 

 Mysore to Ceylon — anything over the latter number is rare, though 

 even in the island Mr. G. Simpson, as quoted by Legge, says : — 



"In the Island of Delft;, and at the Palverainkadoo Lagoon, on 

 the north-west coast, it appears yearly in thousands in November, 

 leaving at the end of February." 



The Common Teal is one of the most attractive of the duck tribe 

 to the sportsman, both from its being so numerous and from its 

 habits. Although mainly a night-feeder, yet in places where its 

 food supply lies in the flooded rice-fields and the edges of swamps, 

 bhils, &c.. it will continue to feed for an hour or so after daylight, 

 and even when it has finished feeding it remains in amongst the 

 weeds, reeds, and other cover near the shores. It thus afl'ords 

 excellent sport, whether with a dog or two, or a few beaters, or from 

 some small dug-out poled quietly along by a single man in the stern. 

 The Teal often lay close enough to allow of constant shots at from 

 twenty-five to forty yards, and as they often scatter a good deal, 

 even when resting, two or three shots may be obtained at the same 

 flock. In this way, on large sheets of water, a good bag may be 

 made before the birds get scared and leave altogether, or else rise far 

 out of shot. 



Nowhere in Bengal have I found Teal to be of a very confiding 



nature, but that they are so in some parts of their Indian habitat 



is well-known. Hume writes : — 



" They are, as a rale, when met with near villages, or in densely 

 populated portions of the country, excessively tame — too tame to 

 render shooting them possible, unless you merely require them for 

 food. Not only will they let you walk up to them when they are 

 on a village pond — is close as you please — but when you have fired 

 at them and killed two or three the remainder afiier a short flight 

 will again settle, as often as not, well within shot. Nay, at times, 

 though fluttering a good deal, and looking about as if astonished, 

 they will not rise at all at the first shot, despite the fact that some 

 of their comrades are floating dead before them." 



