i62 Manual of the Game Birds of India. 



little inland, near Bamboo Flat and Port 

 Mouatt. Towards the end of June these 

 small parties commenced to break up into 

 pairs ; about this time I shot several, and 

 in the paired birds I found the testes of 

 the drakes enlarged, but the ovaries of 

 the females were, as yet, in ordinary 

 condition. In the ' Game Birds of India ' 

 Mr. Hume mentions a single nest being 

 found in August, and I should think that 

 August or the end of July would be the 

 usual time of laying. I am afraid I am 

 not likely to find a nest, as there are 

 so many hundreds of acres of suitable 

 breeding ground, and the birds are 

 comparatively few. 



" The ' Oceanic Teal ' feed a good deal 

 in the paddy fields at night ; under cover 

 of darkness, too, a few birds often drop 

 into small tanks at Aberdeen within a few 

 yards of bungalows and buildings. When 

 in flocks they are very wild, but in pairs, 

 on the small channels among the marshes, 

 I found them very tame. I have often 

 been able to creep up to the water's edge 

 and watch a pair swimming quietly about 

 within ten yards of me for some time. 

 On one occasion I came right on to a 

 pair under an overhanging bush, and they 

 only fluttered, like waterhens, along the 



