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ANAS CAROLINENSIS 
England traveling either as single birds, immature young of the year, or in small 
groups of from four to six. The family parties do not seem to be particularly large, 
judging from the numerous reports of five or six birds being seen. On the regular 
wintering grounds or great gathering points they of course assemble in larger num- 
bers, the flocks often reaching fifty or more. I have seen dense clouds numbering 
thousands gathered at the mouth of the Santee River, South Carolina, in March and 
in the great brackish Gulf Coast marshes, thousands, mixed with Blue-wings and 
Shovellers, may sometimes be driven from one small pond, arising like a dark cloud 
with a thunderous roar of wings. I do not recall ever having seen a high, migrating 
flock, but they are said to assume formations similar to those of the Mallard when on 
migration. 
Association with other Species. Teal seem to prefer Mallard and Black 
Duck to other larger ducks, but they mix almost indiscriminately with the Blue- 
wings during the autumn and winter, although during the winter the Blue-wings 
mostly withdraw from the northern part of the Green-wing’s range. Stragglers on 
migration sometimes pick strange company for I have watched them passing far 
out at sea with flocks of Scoters and I have heard of them doing the same thing with 
Eiders. 
Voice. The voice is probably exactly the same as that of the Common Teal. 
The scraping, creaking, snipe-like call heard in the early autumn may come from 
immature males. I am not certain about this, but I am sure that the clear double 
whistling note is a rare sound except in the spring. I remember once very early in 
the morning mistaking the call of an immature male for that of a snipe. Dr. A. F. 
Warren, who made very careful notes on captive Teal, writes me that the drake’s 
voice is not the same in the autumn as in the spring, but is hoarser and not so clear- 
cut. He also describes a sound like the ‘Tow, soft whine of a little puppy” from the 
drake in the breeding season. This last sound is only to be heard for a distance of a 
few feet. Single females swimming toward live decoys are usually very noisy, even 
in early autumn, but the males are throughout most of the year comparatively silent 
ducks. In addition to the sharp high quack of the female and the preep-preep of the 
male, Harper wi'ites me that on the breeding grounds he once surprised a pair 
asleep on a log that were too dazed to do more than utter a call sounding like kup- 
kup-kup. Another note entirely strange to him came from some very tame birds 
which swam tow’^ard him out of apparent curiosity. This he described as like ek-ek- 
ek. I have never heard any such note as this. 
Food. Audubon’s early investigations of the diet of this Teal seem to be borne 
out by the recent examinations made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That 
