322 OUR RARER BIRDS 



note of whee-ow is very characteristic. Great numbers of this 

 pretty Duck are caught in the flight-nets on the Wash in 

 autumn. 



The Teal (Anas crecca), next to the Wild Duck, is perhaps 

 the best known of all the British species of Ducks. Its small 

 size, vermiculated mantle, and green bands on the sides of 

 the neck, readily distinguish it from its congeners. The Teal, 

 if the smallest, is certainly one of the handsomest of our 

 resident birds. Wherever the country is suited to its require- 

 ments, the Teal is more or less commonly distributed. It 

 loves to frequent the little reed-fringed ponds and meres, and 

 does not visit the coast so much as its larger allies. Its well- 

 known nake and shrill whistling rick often proclaim its 

 presence amongst the reeds. The nesting season begins in 

 the late spring, and the eggs are often laid some considerable 

 distance from the water's edge. I have known the nest in 

 amongst brambles and under bracken, as well as in the 

 reeds and rushes on the banks of the quiet pool. Few birds 

 are so gentle and trustful as the charming little Teal, and its 

 actions may be viewed with little trouble. The nest is slight, 

 made of a few bits of dry grass, fern, or aquatic herbage, lined 

 with the uniform brown-down from the parent's body. The 

 eggs, eight to ten in number, are cream colour, sometimes 

 tinged with green. It has been said that the male Teal 

 assists the female in family duties, but so far as I have 

 observed, this species does not differ from its congeners in 

 this particular. 



The Garganey (Anas circia) is one of the most local of 

 British Ducks, and is only known with certainty to breed in 

 one of our eastern English counties. It is distinguished from 

 its congeners by its blue shoulders and unvermiculated 

 mantle. The drainage of fens and marshes has robbed the 

 Garganey of nearly all its nesting-places in England. Like 

 the Teal it is remarkably trustful and tame, but when alarmed 



