HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



365 



AMERICAN TEAL. 



stream beyond gun-shot, and then only take to wing 

 when much disturbed. 



The American Teal (Anas creccaj) is another valu 

 able game fowl. 



They are commonly seen on the pools, in close com 

 panies of ten or twelve together, frequenting the rivers 

 and unfrozen springs in winter, where they subsist on 

 aquatic plants. They fly very swiftly, and utter a 

 sort of whistling cry. The Teal breeds in the fens, 

 continuing in the temperate parts of Europe the whole 

 year. It conceals its nest among the bulrushes, con 

 structing it of their stalks, and lining it with feathers ; 

 it rests also sometimes on the surface on the water, so 

 as to rise and fall with the flood. The eggs are about 

 ten or twelve, of a soiled white, indistinctly marked 

 with brown spots. The female takes the whole man- 

 31* 



