WILD SWAN TEAL. 



SWAN, WILD, or HOOPER. Anas cygnus Le 



cygne sauvage. 



The hoopers are, at certain times, easier of access 

 than some other wild birds ; and if, when flying, 

 they are fired at directly under the hollow of the 

 wing, or, when swimming, through the head, they 

 may be stopped, at a reasonable distance, with a 

 common double gun and small shot; perhaps even 

 farther than other wildfowl, as, when struck in the 

 body, they become helpless from their iveight, and 

 their heads are less likely to escape between the shot 

 than those of smaller fowl. But if, through eager- 

 ness, you happen to fire carelessly at their upper 

 coverts, you may as well try to penetrate a woolpack, 

 unless you have very heavy shot, or a ball. 



* TEAL. Anas crecca La petite sarcelle. 



As a brood of teal, including the old ones, usually 

 amounts to no more than six or seven, they are most 

 commonly seen in very small numbers ; unless they 

 have collected on decoy ponds, and are driven from 

 them by hard frosts, when they will appear on the ad- 

 joining rivers, in flocks of twenty or thirty together. 



Of all the prizes that a wildfowl shooter could wish 

 to meet with, a flock of teal is the very first. In- 

 dependently of their being by far the best birds of 

 the whole anas tribe, they are so much easier of 

 access, and require such a slight blow, that no matter 

 whether you are prepared for wildfowl, partridges, 

 or snipes, you may, at most times, with very little 



