HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



865 



AMERICAN TEAL. 



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

 when much disturbed. 



The American Teal (Anas crecca,) 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- 

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