280 ANATIDJ:. 



April, laying from ten to fourteen eggs, in a nest formed 

 of dry grass and placed in a bunch of reeds. The egg is 

 of a buff colour, and measures one inch nine lines in length 

 by one inch and three lines in breadth. The food of this 

 species consists of seeds, slugs, insects and their larvae. 



The Garganey is found in Spain about Arragon ; arrives 

 at Genoa in flocks, from February to April. Savi says it 

 visits Italy in March, and remains the summer ; and Prince 

 Charles Bonaparte says that at Rome it is common in 

 summer. It is found at Corfu, in Crete, and in Sicily all 

 the year : at Malta only when on its passage in spring. 

 Sir Thomas Reade sent the Zoological Society specimens 

 of the Garganey obtained in the vicinity of Tunis ; and 

 it will be recollected that this bird has, by some authors, 

 been called the African Teal. Keith Abbot, Esq. sent 

 specimens from Trebizond ; the Russian naturalists found 

 it inhabiting the countries of the Caucasus ; Mr. Gould 

 mentions that it has been found on the Himalayan range ; 

 Colonel Sykes includes it among his Birds of the Dukhun, 

 and Mr. Blyth has obtained it at Calcutta. 



The adult male, as observed here in March, has the 

 bill brown ; the irides hazel ; the forehead, top of the 

 head, and occiput, dark brown, forming a stripe which 

 ends in a point half way down the neck behind ; over the 

 eye and ear-coverts, on each side, and passing to the back 

 of the neck, under the dark brown stripe, is a stripe of white ; 

 cheeks, and sides of the neck nutmeg brown varied with 

 short hair -like lines of white ; the back dark brown, each 

 feather edged with lighter brown ; scapulars elongated, 

 black, with a central stripe of white ; wing-coverts bluish- 

 grey; speculum dull green margined with white; pri- 

 maries brownish-black ; tertials bluish-grey ; tail greyish- 

 brown ; chin black ; neck in front, and the whole of the 

 breast, dark brown, with pale brown crescentic bands ; 



