104 ANATIDAG 
When alarmed it suddenly shoots upwards with marvellous 
speed, as though it were projected by a strong spring into 
the air, and then off it flles, twisting and turning with a 
strength and velocity hardly inferior to that of the fleeting 
Dove or the swooping Falcon. The gunner rejoices when 
he gets among a wisp of Teal; the rapid flight more than 
tests his aim; quickly he tries a snap-shot, down comes 
his game, only one grain of shot in the wing, but the frail 
little bone has been broken and the beautiful flight 1s ended. 
Then the taxidermist, pent up in his work-room, finds his 
subject all-absorbing, as he models the dainty form and 
arranges the pretty plumes of this miniature Duck. 
The Teal loves quiet inland waters, and may be found 
on pools and canals of small size. Though it is not by 
any means a coast-loving bird, yet considerable numbers 
may be seen in our bays and creeks in the autumn and 
winter. Hard and continued frost drives it to the coast, 
when as many as five hundred have been counted together 
on the tideway. ‘Thompson states that between August and 
September he has noted as many as fifty in Belfast Bay. 
I have shot Teal on the tops of mountains, among dry 
heath and gorse, and once, when boating, caught an adult 
female bird which was hiding in the shelter of an over- 
hanging embankment of a river. I let the boat drift towards 
her, and was on the point of seizing her, when she dived 
hike a flash, and had I not immediately thrust my arm full 
length under water, she would have escaped. The bird 
was not moulting and flew away, strong on the wing, when 
liberated. 
Food.—Food is sought for mainly in the early morning 
and in the twilight, when the bird visits the ditches, bog- 
lands and stubble, in search of vegetables, seeds, grasses, 
worms, slugs, and in warm countries, rice. I have observed 
this little Duck at mid-day, picking at the reeds growing 
by a river-bank. It is one of the most palatable of game 
birds. 
Votce.—The voice is harsh and loud for the size of the 
bird. The note may be syllabled qide-qui-qui. 
Flught.—The flight of the Teal 1s more rapid and 
glancing than that of the larger Ducks, but when flushed 
from cover it has a habit of alighting at no great distance 
from where it has been disturbed. Sportsmen acquainted 
with this habit can often make good bags by following up 
the birds. Thus, I have seen a family party, consisting of 
