TEAL. Que 



and in marshy places, choosing the last-mentioned localities for its home. The nest of 

 the Teal is made of a large heap of leaves, grasses, and sedges, lined with down and 

 feathers. The number of eggs is about eight or ten, and their colour is buffy white. The 

 Teal is caught in decoys together with the Mallard and other Ducks. 



The colour of this little bird is rather complicated. The forehead and top of the head 

 are chestnut-brown, the sides of the face are dark shining green on the upper half, and 

 rich chestnut on the lower half. Above and below the eye run two narrow streaks of 

 buff, sharply dividing the green and the chestnut from each other. The chin is black, the 

 nape of the neck and back are grey -white covered with a multitude of narrow pencillings ; 

 the wings are brown, velvet-black and purple, with a bold white bar formed by the white 

 tips of the secondaries, and the tail is blackish brown. The breast is white tinged with 

 purple, and covered with circular black spots, and the abdomen is white. In total length 

 the Teal is not quite fifteen inches. The female is almost wholly brown. 



Another species of the same genus, the BIMACULATED DUCK (Querquedula Tiimaculata), 

 is found in England, as is a closely allied species, the GARGANEY or SUMMER TEAL 

 (Pterocyanea circia). 



THE ourious SHOVELLER DUCK may be at once known by the form of the beak, which 

 is much widened on each side near the tip, and bears some resemblance to the beak of the 

 Spoonbill. 



The Shoveller is a winter visitant of this country, and, as is often the case with others 

 of its tribe, a few pairs remain in the British Isles throughout the year. It is found on 

 lakes, ponds, and on marshy grounds, feeding upon worms, insects, and various vegetable 

 substances. Snails and the small fiy of fishes have been found in the stomach of the 

 Shoveller Duck. The flesh of this bird is singularly good, and is thought by some 

 practical judges to equal that of the far-famed canvas-backed Duck. 



The nest of the Shoveller is placed near water, but on some dry spot, and is made of 

 long slender grass-blades covered with down. The average number of eggs in each nest 

 is eight or nine, and their colour is cream-white with a wash of green. The young do not 

 possess the curiously dilated beak. 



The head and upper part of the neck of the adult male are rich green, and the lower 

 part of the neck white, this tint extending to the scapularies, and some of the tertials. 

 The back is brown, the tip of the wing, the lesser wing-coverts, and part of the tertials 

 are pale blue, the primaries being blackish brown. The upper tail-coverts and tail are 



