THE TEAL. 505 



The few Teal which remain all the year with us pair early 

 in spring. I have observed them in couples on the Ken- 

 net, in Berkshire, before winter had well departed. They 

 appear to have a strong attachment to any place on which 

 they have once fixed to build their nest, and return to the 

 same locality year after year ; and the young brood remain 

 in the neighbourhood of their birthplace until pairing time 

 in the following year. The nest is usually placed among 

 coarse herbage by the bank of a lake or river, and is 

 constructed of decayed vegetable matter, lined with down 

 and feathers, and contains from ten to fifteen eggs. The 

 number, however, of these birds to be found with us in 

 summer is as nothing compared with the immense flocks 

 which visit our inland lakes and swamps in winter. They 

 are then much sought after for the table, being considered 

 more delicate eating than any others of the tribe. In some 

 parts they repair to salt marshes and the sea-shore, where 

 they share the fate of the Wild Duck. 



Willughby tells us that in his time the Teal and 

 Wigeon, considered as marketable goods, were classed 

 together as "half-fowl," their value being only half that 

 of the Wild Duck. In the fen counties they are still 

 ranked together as " Half Ducks," and for the same reason. 



The Teal has two notes, one a kind of quack, the other, 

 uttered by the male only during winter, which has been 

 compared to the whistle of the Plover. Its food consists 

 of water insects, mollusks, worms, and the seeds of grass 

 and sedge. 



