SOUTH GEORGIAN TEAL 283 
birds do not dive, but the young sometimes resort to this practice as a means of 
escape (Ldnnberg, 1906). 
Flight. They are usually seen in flocks of from six to twelve, but in winter they 
seem to flock together in companies numbering as many as one hundred (von der 
Steinen, 1890; Ldnnberg, 1906). 
Voice. The male has a whistling note repeated several times (Ldnnberg, 1905; 
Szielasko, 1907). Another note, probably that of the female, sounds like the bursting 
of large bubbles. This, says von der Steinen, is usually uttered as a warning cry. 
While the birds were feeding, Murphy heard an occasional quack which was undoubt- 
edly also the female’s note. 
Food. The principal food seems to be amphipods, gleaned from the kelp-fields 
and about the rocks at low tide. They also feed in the ponds and in the bare, wet 
runways between tussock-hummocks, though what sort of food they obtain in these 
situations is not apparent (Murphy, 1916). 
Courtship and Nesting. The breeding season extends from November to late 
February, but the majority seem to nest in December. Von der Steinen saw them 
several times in pairs in November, and observed the first mating on November 19. 
Members of the Expedition found the first eggs on December 8, and the first young 
on December 18. Sbrling found the first eggs on December 7 and met with broods 
on December 13 and 14 (Ldnnberg, 1906). Late nests, however, seem to be quite 
common. Murphy found a nest on February 28 and von der Steinen foimd ducklings 
late in February, and even up to March 15. 
The nests found were all very carefully concealed in the high tussock-grass. One 
discovered by Murphy on February 28 was on top of a hummock, beside a pond, and 
two hundred yards from the shore of Possession Bay. It was covered by dead stand- 
ing blades of grass which completely arched it over. The nest was lined with dead 
grass and a few feathers, and contained five eggs lying with the small ends together 
in the deep bowl. Five seems to be the usual number of eggs in the clutch, and only 
one nest is recorded with less than this (nest with three eggs, von der Steinen) and 
none with more. The small complement seems to be an adaptation to the rigorous 
climate of South Georgia, and is characteristic of other Antarctic birds, especially 
terns and other sea-birds. 
The eggs are of a cream color, with a highly polished surface. No measurements 
are published. The nest-down is described as being whitish gray (von der Steinen, 
1890). 
None of the naturalists who have visited South Georgia has recorded anything 
