ORNAMENTAL WATERFOWL. 159 
to determine their sex until the first breeding season arrives. 
Male.—Head and neck glossy blue-green; breast and 
throat creamy-brown, finely pencilled with black, each feather 
bearing an arrow-shaped brown mark; forehead, cheeks, and 
breast white; back metallic brown, the feathers very pointed 
and edged with white; top of wing black; wing-bar white and 
black ; flank and under parts creamy and pure white; tail 
brown ; bill and legs bluish-brown ; eyes black, a violet streak 
extending from eye to back of head ; small dark brown eyes. 
Female.—Similar, but less brilliant. 
Young.—In down, light brown on back, brightening to 
chestnut on cheeks ; short broad bill. 
Egg.—Creamy-white ; seven to nine in number. May— 
July. Incubation, twenty-five to twenty-eight days. 
Nest Down.— Dark brown ; very short white tips. 
GENUS NETTION. 
The birds comprising this genus have a cosmopolitan 
range, and differ from the Ducks in having a more slender form, 
a narrower bill, longer wings, and more pointed feathers; the 
tail is wedge-shaped or pointed, the feathers of the back or 
saddle being considerably longer than in the dzas. The Teals 
feed on vegetables, mollusca, insects, and worms, frequenting 
lakes, marshes, and rivers, and are rarely seen by the sea 
coast. Excellent swimmers, they nevertheless seldom dive; 
their flight is very rapid, and when on the ground they walk 
well and gracefully. The nest of the Teals is constructed of 
grass, short rushes, and other suitable materials, with a thick 
lining of down, containing white or cream coloured eggs, seven 
to sixteen in number. In most of the species the male assumes 
