202 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



I November 



but there were plenty of other thieves whose names I never succeeded 

 in rinding out. 



Very large numbers of Teal are netted or caught by the natives in 

 various ways and either killed and taken to the market for sale, or 

 kept alive and sold to those Anglo-Indians who keep " Tealeries." A 

 good fat Teal is in my opinion one of the best birds I have ever eaten ; 

 it certainly surpasses every other duck I have come across, and is little, 

 if at all, inferior to the Woodcock and the Golden Plover. 



THE GARGANEY. 



QUERQUEDULA ClRCIA, LlNN^US. 



The Garganey, or Blue-winged Teal is found over the greater part 

 of Europe and Asia. In India it is very common during the cold 

 weather, more common even than the Common Teal some observers 

 say. Like the Common Teal it has a swift flight, and often occurs 

 in very large flocks. I did not see many of these birds myself, and I 

 never saw more than a small number together. I shot one out of a 

 party of five on a very reedy tank near Hersole ; one was bagged at 

 Sabli Road and half-a-dozen or so near the Null. Great numbers of 

 this as of the last species are caugnt alive by the natives to supply 

 Tealeries, where they are kept and fattened during the hot weather. 

 What a heaven-sent institution these Tealeries are, only those who 

 have been condemned to a course of Indian beef and mutton during the 

 hot weather can tell. The Garganey is not such a good bird for the 

 table as the Common Teal, but he nevertheless ranks in the first class 

 among the Indian ducks. 



THE WHITE-EYED POCHARD. 

 Aythya Nyroca, Guldenstadt. 

 The White-eyed Pochard inhabits Northern Europe and Asia, and 

 is occasionally killed in England. It is exceedingly common in 

 Northern and Central India, and extends, though more sparingly, over 

 the South also. I found it exceedingly common in Gujerat, almost 

 equalling the Gadwall and the Shoveller in point of numbers. They 

 frequent reedy tanks and are but seldom found on open water. They 

 were very numerous on the long tank at Katwara, and also on the 

 more overgrown tanks at Hersole. Near the Null they were nothing 

 like so numerous as the Gadwall, though they were by no means un- 

 common ; but oddly enough there were hardly any on the big tank at 



