. British birds . derable niunber ofpairs remain to breed in suitable localities throughout England, andmore numerously in Scotland and Ireland. The nest is placed onthe ground on the borders of a marsh or bog, and sometimes at adistance from water, among heather or herbage ; it is made of drygrass and leaves, and, later on, down from the bird is added. Theeggs are creamy-white or pale buff in colour, with a tinge of green,and eight or ten in number, sometimes as many as fifteen. Theteal feeds chiefly by night, on aquatic plants, insects, slugs, and smallcrustaceans. Its call-note is a short,
. British birds . derable niunber ofpairs remain to breed in suitable localities throughout England, andmore numerously in Scotland and Ireland. The nest is placed onthe ground on the borders of a marsh or bog, and sometimes at adistance from water, among heather or herbage ; it is made of drygrass and leaves, and, later on, down from the bird is added. Theeggs are creamy-white or pale buff in colour, with a tinge of green,and eight or ten in number, sometimes as many as fifteen. Theteal feeds chiefly by night, on aquatic plants, insects, slugs, and smallcrustaceans. Its call-note is a short, sharp quack, and in the pairing-time the drake emits a low, jarring note. The drake does not moultso early as most ducks, and remains longer with the female durmgthe breeding season, leaving her only when the young are partlygrown. Two American species of teal—the blue-winged teal (Querque-dula discors) and the green-winged teal {Q. carolinensis)—havebeen obtained in Great Britain, one specimen of each. ^^^.^^. SHOVELEH 245 Shoveler. Spatula clypeata. Bill lead-colour, very broad at the tip; head and upper neckgreen; lower neck and scapulars white; middle of the back darkbrown; shoulders pale blue; greater wing-coverts white; second-aries dark brown with a green speculum ; primaries, rump, upperand imder tail-coverts, and tail-feathers, blackish ; breast and bellyrich chestnut; flanks freckled with dark brown on a paler groimd;vent white ; legs and feet reddish orange. Length, twenty inches-Female: brown with dark and light mottlings. In summer, themale in moulting assumes the colours of the female. The shoveler is the handsomest of the British freshwater ducks,and the most singular in appearance, on account of the great breadthof its spoon-like bill. Its plumage also, although beautiful, strikesone as somewhat singular; for it is rare to find pale and delicatehues, like those on the wings and upper parts of this duck, togetherwith a deep, rich colouring, as on the head, up
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Keywords: ., bookauthorhudsonwh, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookyear1921
