316 NATATORES. QUERQUEDULA. TEAL. 



bred, as I have repeatedly observed them to haunt the same 

 district from the time of their hatching till they separated 

 and paired, on the approach of the following spring. The 

 Teal breeds in the long rushy herbage about the edges of 



Nest, &c. lakes, or in the boggy parts of the upland moors. Its nest 

 is formed of a large mass of decayed vegetable matter, with 

 a lining of down and feathers upon which the eggs rest; 

 these are from eight to ten in number, in size rather exceed- 

 ing those of the Ring-Dove, and of a cream-white. The 

 young, when first excluded, are covered with a dark-coloured 

 down, that, in less than two months, gives place to a plu- 

 mage similar (in both sexes) to that of the female parent. 

 The young males do not acquire their peculiar distinctive 

 garb till about the middle of December. The present is a 

 night-feeding bird ; commencing the flight from its diurnal 

 retreat immediately after sun-set. During the day it reposes 

 upon the water, or sits motionless on its very brink, with the 

 head couched between the shoulders, or, when actually asleep, 

 with the bill hidden under the scapulars, the usual reposing 

 attitude of most of the feathered race. The flight of the 

 Teal is very rapid, and, when flushed, it darts off so quickly, 

 as to require great alertness in the sportsman, that he may 



Food. gain his shot before the bird is out of distance. Its food is 

 composed of the seeds of various aquatic plants, vegetables, 

 insects, and mollusca. In confinement (which it bears well, 

 and soon becomes very tame), when fed upon grain, it al- 

 ways moistens the food before attempting to swallow it ; a 

 habit also observed in its congener the Gargany. The bill 

 of the Teal is formed exactly on the plan of that of the Pin- 

 tail, and the two middle tail-feathers, though not elongated 

 in the same proportion, are longer than the rest, and pointed. 

 The American Green- winged Teal of WILSON has by some 

 been considered a distinct species, on account of the white 

 bar on the shoulders, seen in many of the males ; the author, 

 however, thinks it identical with the European bird, and I 

 believe Dr RICHARDSON and Mr SWAINSON are of the same 



