79 
THE TEAL 
Nettion Crecca (LINN.EUS) 
The Teal breeds as far north as Iceland, East Greenland, and locally along 
Northern Europe as far as the Lena delta, and in winter it is common 
throughout Europe below the extreme cold, as far south as the Mediterranean, 
especially in Spain ' and Sardinia. It visits North Africa, Madeira, and the 
Canaries, and is common in Egypt, going as far south as Abyssinia. It is 
also distributed throughout China, Central Asia, and Siberia, going south to 
Siam and India in the winter, whilst in North America it has been obtained 
in Alaska in summer and probably breeds there, and visits occasionally in 
winter the Atlantic seaboard from the St. Lawrence to Florida. 
In the British Islands it is well distributed and indigenous, being found 
in large numbers in the bogs wherever protection is afforded. In Wales and 
the north of England it is far more numerous than in the southern or 
eastern counties, and in Scotland it is abundant on Loch Leven, Loch 
Spynie, Murthly Moss, where one hundred have been killed in a day's 
shooting, the Tay Estuary, the Beauly Firth, King's Mire, Errol Marshes, 
Methven Moss, and locally in the counties of Aberdeen, Ross, Caithness, and 
Wigton. It breeds very sparingly in the Orkneys, but the Island of 
Damsey has always been a favourite resort. In the Shetlands it is also 
scarce, and during the winter it leaves these islands altogether. It is 
sparingly distributed all over the west coast of Scotland, being commoner 
again in Ayrshire and the neighbourhood of the Solway. In the Inner 
1 Spain is probably the southern breeding limit of the Teal, the nest and eggs having recently (1901) been taken 
in the marshes near Seville by Mr. Heatley Noble. 
