OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 363 



Genus NETTION, or Teals. 



Type, NETTION CEBCCA. 



Nettion, of Kaup (1829). — The birds in the present genus are characterised 

 by having the bill moderate in size, not very broad and shorter than the head, 

 but not gradually tapering towards the tip, whilst there is no fringe of soft 

 membrane near the tip of the apical portion ; the lamellae of the upper mandible 

 are not prominent. The central rectrices are acuminate, and extend slightly 

 beyond the outer ones, whilst the scapulars and tertials are longer and narrower 

 than in the Wigeons. 



Fifteen species of Teals are recognised by Count Salvadori, the most recent 

 monographer of the AnatidjE. The present genus may be regarded as practically 

 a cosmopolitan one. Two species are British, one being indigenous to our 

 Islands and the other an abnormal migrant to them from the Nearctic region. 



The Teals show a decided preference for fresh waters, and often frequent very 

 small pools and streams. During winter they visit estuaries and other marine 

 localities. Their flight is rapid and powerful. Their notes are shrill and 

 unmusical. They subsist partly on animal and partly on vegetable substances, 

 and are both day and night feeders. They are social and gregarious. They are 

 monogamous, making their nests upon the ground, warmly lining these structures 

 with down, and their eggs are numerous, and buff of varying shades in colour. 



