ANATIDA. 431 
THE TEAL. 
NETTION cREcca (Linnzus). 
It is chiefly between September and the following spring that this, 
the smallest of our indigenous Ducks, is really abundant throughout 
the British Islands ; but it nests, sparsely, throughout the south of 
England, and even occasionally along the valley of the Thames. In 
the eastern counties it is a fairly numerous breeder, while north of 
the Trent it becomes more frequent ; and it finds suitable retreats in 
the Welsh bogs, as well as in the ‘mosses’ of Lancashire and 
Cumberland. Except in the Outer Hebrides, where it is rare even 
in winter, it is a widely distributed breeding-species in Scotland, 
including the Orkneys and Shetlands. It breeds in every county 
of Ireland, where a great influx takes place during the cold season. 
During summer the Teal is common in Iceland and the north of 
Europe, while a few pairs nest locally as far south as the Mediter- 
ranean, and even in the Azores. In cold weather it is found all 
over the Continent wherever fresh-water does not freeze for any 
length of time ; it visits Madeira, the Canaries and North Africa ; is 
numerous in Egypt; and goes as far south as the highlands of 
