THE TEAL. 



QUERQUEDULA CRECCA. 



OF all the prizes with which a wild -fowl shooter 

 could wish to meet, a spring of Teal is amongst the 

 first. Independently of their being by far the best 

 birds of the whole duck tribe for the table, they are 

 generally much easier to get at ; and as they require 

 but a slight blow to bring them down, it matters 

 little what charge of shot is in the barrels. 



The quiet rushy pools which lie at a distance 

 from any road, the turf-holes on a peat-bog, and the 

 sluggish shallow streams with overhanging vegeta- 

 tion, are the favourite haunts of the Teal. In some 

 parts of the country this bird is resident throughout 

 the year, but as a rule, and in the South of England 

 especially, it can only be looked upon as a winter 

 visitant. Of shy and retired habits, it shuns the 

 more public ponds and rivers, and avoids the 



