BIEDS OF ICELAND 55 



{Anas hoscas), but is longer in the neck, smaller in 

 the bill, and slenderer generally, and has the same 

 glossy green speculum as the male. The tail-feathers, 

 too, are somewhat pointed and have oblique buff bars 

 underneath, which no other duck in Europe has. 



-^ Querquedula crecca (Linn.). Teal. 



Native names: 'Krikond,' ' Urt ' (connected apparently 

 with a word meaning 'root'), and 'Urtond' (par- 

 tim), ' Ort; ' Litla gra-ond ' (? $). 



A summer visitor principally, but some few remain 

 through the winter. Pretty common, and generally 

 distributed throughout the country in suitable localities. 

 The nest is placed under a dwarf-willow bush, or 

 amongst vegetation of some sort, not far from water ; 

 and six to ten e^ofs are laid in it, of a dark cream 

 colour, occasionally verging on greenish, but this tint 

 is not permanent. Their length is about IJ inches. 

 The bird is easily recognised from its small size (only 

 14 J inches long, wing 7 J inches), and only the follow- 

 ing species could be mistaken for it. The drake has 

 a ruddy-brown head, with a broad stripe of black, 

 glossed with green, beginning just in front of the eye 

 and proceeding to the nape, bordered with buff. The 

 body is light grey pencilled with black (the flank- 

 feathers being very valuable to the flsherman as the 

 well-known 'teal wing'); on the breast these pen- 

 cillings turn to spots. The grey-brown wing has a 



