The Grey Ducks. 161 



of the same flock, the birds flying about 

 and settling again at short distances. 

 But they are eminently birds of a retiring 

 habit, and very soon abandon, as a day 

 haunt, any place which civilised or semi- 

 civilised men begin to frequent. 



" A whole flock is sometimes seen 

 during the day time perched on the 

 mangroves of some salt-water creek ; but 

 they are certainly, by preference, the 

 denizens of forest-embowered fresh water." 



Mr A. L. Butler, in the Journal of the 

 Bombay Natural History Society, thus 

 records his experiences with this Duck : 



" When I arrived at Port Blair in May, 

 these ' Teal ' were in good-sized flocks, 

 resorting principally, at low tide, to two 

 little rocky islets up the harbour, known 

 as Bird Island and Oyster Island. I did 

 not go after them at that time myself, not 

 having a boat ; a fair, though not large, 

 number were killed by some of the 

 officers stationed here. I believe eleven 

 was the result of four barrels on one 

 occasion ! As the monsoon commenced 

 and the harbour became rougher, at the 

 beginning of June, these flocks of 'Teal' 

 broke up into smaller parties of five or 

 six to a dozen or so, and retired to the 

 creeks and dyke-intersected marshes, a 



VOL. II. II 



