AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 183 



Huntly informs me that a male Garganey was taken 

 about March 18th, 1895, at Boro' Fen decoy (fre- 

 quently alluded to in previous articles as " Sir John 

 Shaw's decoy "), and received alive by him at Orton 

 Longueville on 20th inst. The Garganey is a vernal 

 migrant to our Islands, but is not abundant in them 

 at any season ; it nests pretty regularly in certain 

 parts of Norfolk, where I have met with it in July 

 and August. My principal acquaintance with this 

 bird in a wild state was formed in Turkey and 

 Andalucia ; it arrived in the former country in very 

 large flocks about the end of February and remained 

 throughout March in the tamarisk and willow-swamps. 

 A flock of Garganeys twisting among trees presents 

 a very remarkable appearance, from the simultaneous 

 flashing in the sun of the blue-grey wing-coverts of 

 the male birds amidst the pale green of the early 

 spring foliage ; the birds are very restless, and per- 

 petually dashing from place to place with a curious 

 harsh rattling note, which in Southern Spain has 

 gained for them the name of ' Carrafiaca.' In this 

 connection I may mention that the Garganey visits 

 the marshes of Andalucia in small flocks about the 

 end of April, and that a few pairs remain to breed 

 there. I received for the first and only time a nest 

 of this species with eleven eggs from the neighbour- 

 hood of Seville, in 1888 ; this nest was a loose mass 

 of fragments of sedge and water-flags thickly lined 

 with grey down ; the eggs are slightly larger and of 

 a lighter creamy white than those of the Common 

 Teal. The Garganey thrives well in captivity during 

 the summer, but is not a very hardy bird. The flesh 

 of this little Duck is very dry and ill-flavoured ; but 

 I must state that I never tasted it at the best season, 



