TEAL. 285 



vicinity of the Caucasian range, by Russian naturalist?, 

 and is included in catalogues of the birds of various parts 

 of India, China, and Japan. The Teal of North America 

 is distinct from the Teal of Europe, and is said to have 

 been shot in Yorkshire. 



In the adult male Teal the beak is nearly black ; the 

 irides hazel ; forehead, and a narrow band over the top 

 of the head, rich chestnut brown ; at the gape and up- 

 wards, along the base of the upper mandible, and from 

 thence high up over the eye, and then backwards towards 

 the occiput, there is a narrow line of buff; from the lower 

 edge of the eye to a point below and behind the ear-coverts, 

 another narrow line of the same light colour ; all the space 

 from the eye between these two lines, and extending back- 

 ward to the occiput, forms a broad patch of rich glossy 

 green ; cheeks and sides of the neck, below the under 

 light-coloured line, rich chestnut ; back of the neck, sca- 

 pulars, and upper part of the back a mixture of black and 

 white in narrow transverse lines ; the longest of the sca- 

 pulars and the tertials dark brown ; all the smaller wing- 

 coverts ash brown ; the large coverts tipped with white, 

 forming a bar, two or three of the higher coverts having 

 their white tinged with bay ; primaries dark brown ; the 

 secondaries forming a speculum of velvet black, green and 

 purple, tipped with white ; lower part of the back dark 

 brown; upper tail-coverts almost black, edged with ru- 

 fous ; tail-feathers pointed, dark brown ; the chin black ; 

 front of the upper part of the neck chestnut ; lower part 

 of the neck in front partly covered with circular spots of 

 black, on a ground of white, tinged with pale purple ; 

 breast and belly white ; sides and flanks barred with nar- 

 row black and white lines ; central under tail-coverts vel- 

 vet black ; lateral tail-coverts delicate buff colour, with a 

 narrow band of velvet black at the base ; under surface 



