320 LAKES AND STREAMS 



Another genus is represented by the pintail (Dafila acuta), which 

 chooses for its residence extensive swamps and marshes, with numerous 

 ditches and much open water, large lakes with plenty of reeds, and neglected ponds 

 in which plants abound. In the second half of April the nest of dead grasses and 

 sedges — not necessarily near water and always in a dry place — contains from eight 

 to ten pale greyish green eggs, similar to those of the wild duck but smaller. Pin- 

 tail breed in Iceland, Lapland, Bering Island, Alaska, Labrador, Greenland, and as far 

 north as the mallard, and in their winter migration reach the Isthmus of Panama, 

 central Africa, and Borneo, so that they may be said to range all over the Northern 

 Hemisphere. This is one of the commonest ducks on the shores of the North Sea, 

 where its long tail has procured for it the name of sea-pheasant, though it is also 

 known as the winter-duck. It is a good diver, a graceful swimmer, and quiet on 

 the wing, and is frequently found in flocks on the coasts and estuaries twice a 

 year, as it passes on migration. Pintail frequently associate with wigeon, from 

 which they may be distinguished at a distance by the habit of putting their heads 

 under water to feed. They are shy birds, calling only at night, the note being 

 a somewhat gentle quaark. 



The garganey (Qiwrqued/ida circia) appears rather frequently 

 in many parts of the Continent during the summer, arriving later 

 and leaving earlier than the mallard. It is commonest as a breeding-bird in Austria- 

 Hungary, and along the Danube down to the Dobrudscha ; the northern boundary 

 of its distributional area in Europe being southern Sweden. In Asia it breeds in 

 Turkestan and southern Siberia, but does not range so far north as the other 

 ducks. In winter it journeys as far south as the Moluccas and Somaliland. It 

 begins migrating in August, and continues all through September and even later, 

 returning to Europe in March and April. It nests in reeds or bushes near swamps, 

 sometimes in dry places away from water, the nest being on the ground, and having 

 a deep cup made of grass and leaves. When pursued by a hawk, this duck flies 

 with great swiftness, making no noise, and trying to evade its enemy by such 

 sudden turns and curves as to tire it out and force it to abandon the chase. In 

 the eastern counties of England the garganey is known as the cricket-teal, from 

 the peculiar jarring sound of the drake's call. 



The teal (Q. crecca), which is the typical representative of its 

 genus, makes its appearance on all the seashores of Europe during 

 migration, and nests in almost every county in the British Isles, and throughout 

 northern Europe and Asia up to and beyond the Arctic Circle. As a visitor, 

 it is known in Greenland and Alaska, and as a winter - migrant ranges into 

 Abyssinia and Siam. In England this smallest and prettiest of the resident 

 ducks has its numbers much augmented in winter by flocks on migration, 

 and may frequently be observed in small parties among crowds of mallard 

 and wigeon, from which it keeps itself apart. It nests generally, but not 

 always, in a swamp, the materials being dead rushes and reeds with a lining of 

 grass and leaves and the brown down. Flying more lightly than the other 

 ducks already mentioned, it is a good diver and able to swim some distance 

 under water, only raising its beak above the surface for breathing purposes in 

 case of danger. 



