British Birds in their Haunts Part 30

Teal [M] [F]

Wigeon [M]

Pintail Duck [M]

[_p. 190._]]

[Ill.u.s.tration:

Pochard [M] [F]

Tufted Duck [M]

Scaup [M]

Golden Eye [M] [F]]

THE TEAL QUERQUeDULA CReCCA

Head and neck bright chestnut; on each side of the head a broad green band edged with buff, inclosing the eye and extending to the nape; lower part of the neck, back, and flanks, marked with numerous black and white zigzag lines; breast reddish white, with roundish black spots; speculum black, green and purple, edged with white; bill dusky; irides brown; feet ash.

_Female_--upper plumage dusky brown mottled with reddish grey; throat, cheeks and a band behind the eyes yellowish white spotted with black; speculum black and green. Length fourteen inches and a half. Eggs yellowish white.

The Teal is the smallest, and by no means the least beautiful, among the British Ducks. It is decidedly an indigenous species, as it breeds in many parts both of Great Britain and Ireland, especially in the eastern counties, in Welsh bogs, and northern mosses. It is domesticated, too, without difficulty, and is generally to be found on artificial and other pieces of water where the breed of water fowl is encouraged. Its favourite summer resorts in England are lakes which are lined with rushes, boggy places on the moors, and sedgy rivers. It is an active bird, rising from the water with great facility, and having a rapid flight. The few Teal which remain all the year with us pair early in spring. I have observed them in couples on the Kennet, in Berkshire, before winter had well departed. They appear to have a strong attachment to any place on which they have once fixed to build their nest, and return to the same locality year after year; and the young brood remain in the neighbourhood of their birth-place until pairing time in the following year. The nest is usually placed among coa.r.s.e herbage by the bank of a lake or river, and is constructed of decayed vegetable matter, lined with down and feathers, and contains from ten to fifteen eggs. The number, however, of these birds to be found with us in summer is as nothing compared with the immense flocks which visit our inland lakes and swamps in winter. They are then much sought after for the table, being considered more delicate eating than any others of the tribe. In some parts they repair to salt marshes and the sea-sh.o.r.e, where they share the fate of the Wild Duck.

Willughby tells us that in his time the Teal and Wigeon, considered as marketable goods, were cla.s.sed together as 'half-fowl', their value being only half that of the Wild Duck. In the fen counties they are still ranked together as 'Half Ducks', and for the same reason.

The Teal has two notes, one a kind of quack, the other, uttered by the male only during winter, which has been compared to the whistle of the Plover. Its food consists of water insects, molluscs, worms, and the seeds of gra.s.s and sedge. It is widely distributed in Scotland.

THE GARGANEY QUERQUeDULA CIRCIA

Crown dusky; over the eye a white band extending down the neck; throat black; neck chestnut-brown streaked with white; breast pale yellowish brown, with crescent-shaped black bars; back mottled with dusky grey and brown; speculum greyish green bordered above and below with white; bill dark brown; irides brown; feet grey. Length sixteen inches. Eggs buff.

This elegant little bird visits us in March and April, being at that time, it is supposed, on its way to the south. Though not among the rarest of the tribe, it is now of unusual occurrence, but was formerly so regular a visitor in the eastern counties, that it acquired the provincial name of 'Summer Teal'. Young birds are commonly seen on the Broads of Norfolk in July and August, distinguishable from young Teal by the lighter colour of their plumage, more slender habit, and greater length of neck. The nests are built among the thickest reed beds, and owing now to protection their numbers are increasing. In Ireland it is the rarest of the well-known ducks.

THE WIGEON MAReCA PENeLOPE

_Male_--head and upper part of the neck chestnut, the cheeks and crown speckled with black; a broad cream-coloured band extending from the bill to the crown; throat nearly black; a narrow collar of white and black wavy lines extending over the back and flanks; lower part of the neck and sides of the breast chocolate colour; scapulars velvet-black edged with white; wing-coverts white; quills ash-brown; speculum glossy green, with a black band above and below; tail wedge-shaped, two middle feathers pointed, and the longest, dusky ash; under tail-coverts black; bill bluish grey, the tip black; irides hazel; feet dusky grey. _Female_--head and neck reddish brown, speckled with dusky; back and scapulars dusky brown, the feathers edged with rusty red; wing-coverts brown, edged with whitish; speculum without the green gloss; flanks reddish brown. Length twenty inches. Eggs brownish white.

The name Whew Duck, or Whewer, by which, this bird is known in some parts of England, was given to it on account of its emitting a shrill whistle while flying. The name is an old one, for Ray and Willughby describe it under the name of 'Whewer'. Its French name _Siffleur_, 'Whistler', has reference to the same peculiarity, and by this note the bird may often be distinguished from others of the same tribe, when so far off that the eye fails to identify it. The Wigeon ranks next to the Teal and Wild Duck as an article of food, and, being more plentiful than either of these birds, it is among the best known of all the Ducks which frequent our sh.o.r.es. It breeds over most of Sutherland, and sparingly elsewhere in the north; a few pairs are said to nest also in various parts of Ireland.

Flocks of Wigeons repair to our sh.o.r.es in autumn, and either betake themselves to inland lakes and mora.s.ses, or keep to the coast, especially where there are extensive salt marshes. In winter their numbers are greatly increased, especially in the south; and as they feed by day as well as by night, they offer themselves a ready prey to the fowler. Their food consists of marine and fresh-water insects, small sh.e.l.lfish, sea-weed, and gra.s.s. Their nidification differs little from that of the Teal.

THE COMMON POCHARD FULiGULA FERiNA

Head and neck bright chestnut; breast, upper part of the back, and rump black; back, scapulars, flanks, and abdomen greyish white, marked with numerous fine wavy lines; no speculum; bill black, with a broad lead-coloured transverse band; irides bright orange; feet lead colour, the membranes black.

_Female_--smaller; head, neck, and breast, reddish brown; throat white, mottled with reddish; large brown spots on the flanks; wavy lines on the back less distinct. Length nineteen inches. Eggs greenish white.

A hardy northern bird of wide geographical range, with considerable power of flight, a skilful diver, and not particular as to diet, the Pochard is an abundant species. It breeds in some districts: But it is princ.i.p.ally as a winter visitant that it is known in the south of Europe. In Norfolk 'Red-Headed' Pochards are perhaps more numerous than any other kind of Duck which falls to the gun of the sea-side fowler. Small parties of these birds may frequently be seen by day flying over the sea, or swimming securely in the offing; and in the evening great numbers resort to the fens and salt marshes, where they feed on various kinds of animal matter, and the roots and leaves of gra.s.ses and aquatic plants. As they are considered good eating, and command a ready sale, they contribute to the support of the sea-side population, who, when thrown out of work by the severe weather, wander about the sh.o.r.e by day and lie in wait by night, armed with guns of various calibre, for the chance of securing in one or two Ducks the subst.i.tute for a day's wages.

They are variously known in different places by the name of Pochards, Pokers, Dunbirds, and Red-eyed Pochards. On some parts of the coast of Norfolk I found that they are included with the Wigeon under the common name of 'Smee-Duck'.

The Pochard builds its nest among reeds, in Russia, Denmark, and the north of Germany, and lays twelve or thirteen eggs.

The Red-crested is a different species from the 'Red-headed.'

THE TUFTED DUCK FULiGULA CRISTaTA

Feathers on the back of the head elongated; head, neck, breast, and upper plumage black, with purple, green, and bronze reflections; speculum and under plumage white, except the abdomen, which is dusky; bill blue, nail black; irides bright yellow; feet bluish, with black membranes. _Female_--smaller, the crest shorter; upper plumage dull black, clouded with brown; under plumage reddish white, spotted on the breast and flanks with reddish brown. Length seventeen inches. Eggs greenish white spotted with light brown.

The points of difference in habit between this and the preceding species are so few that it is scarcely necessary to say more than that it is a regular winter visitor to the British Isles, and is distributed, generally in small flocks, never alone, over our lakes and marshes, arriving in October and taking its departure in March or April. Its food is less exclusively of a fishy nature than that of the Scaup Duck, consequently its flesh is more palatable, being, in the estimation of French gastronomists, _un roti parfait_. The Tufted Duck now breeds in a good many districts here.

THE SCAUP DUCK FULiGULA MARiLA

Head and upper part of the neck black, with green reflections; breast and rump black; back and scapulars whitish, marked with numerous fine wavy black lines; belly, flanks, and speculum, white; bill blue, the nail and edges black; irides bright yellow; feet ash-grey, with dusky membranes. _Female_--a broad whitish band round the base of the bill; head and neck dusky brown; breast and rump dark brown; back marked with fine wavy lines of black and white; flanks spotted and pencilled with brown, irides dull yellow. Length twenty inches. Eggs clay-buff.

The Scaup is so called from its feeding on 'scaup', a northern word for a bed of sh.e.l.lfish.[37] It is a northern bird, arriving on our coasts in October and November, and remaining with us till the following spring. During this time it frequents those parts of the coast which abound in sh.e.l.lfish, mostly diving for its food after the manner of the Scoters. On the coast of Norfolk, where Scaups often appear during winter in large flocks, they are called 'Mussel Ducks', a name no less appropriate than Scaup; for mussels, and indeed many other kinds of sh.e.l.lfish, as well as insects and marine plants, seem equally acceptable to them. Selby records a single instance of the Scaup having bred so far south as Sutherlandshire, a female having been seen in the month of June, accompanied by a young one. They have paired on Loch Leven. It is generally distributed along the sh.o.r.es of Great Britain, excepting on the south coast [of Ireland]. In August, 1861, I observed two birds swimming sociably on a small fresh-water loch in the island of Islay, which, upon examination through a telescope, appeared to me to be, one, a kind of Goose, the other decidedly a Duck of some kind. On inquiry I found that the former was a Bernacle Goose, which had been caught in a neighbouring island in the previous winter, and had been given to the laird's keeper, who pinioned it and turned it out on the loch to shift for itself. Of the Duck nothing was known, nor had it been observed before. It eventually proved to be an adult male Scaup Duck, but what had induced it to remain there all the summer in the society of a bird of a different tribe, is a question which I did not attempt to solve.

The Scaup Duck is very abundant in Holland during winter, covering the inland seas with immense flocks. It is found more sparingly in other continental countries. It breeds in the extreme north, both in the eastern and western hemispheres.

[37] 'Avis haec _the Scaup Duck_ dicta est quoniam _scalpam_, i. e. pisces testaceos fractos seu contritos, esitat.'--WILLUGHBY, p. 279.

THE GOLDEN EYE CLANGuLA GLAUCION

A white patch under the eye; head and neck black, l.u.s.trous with violet and green; back black; scapulars, great wing-coverts, speculum, and under parts, white; bill black; irides golden yellow; feet orange, with black membranes. _Female_--all the head and neck dark brown; feathers of the back dusky bordered with dark ash; greater wing-coverts white tipped with black; speculum and under parts white; tip of the bill yellowish, irides and feet pale yellow. Length eighteen and a half inches.

Eggs buffy white.

This pretty, active little Duck is a regular winter visitant to the British sh.o.r.es, from autumn to spring, resorting to most of the localities frequented by other species, and frequently falling to the sportsman's gun, though little prized for the table. Females and young birds, called Mormons, are most numerous in England. They are very strong of flight, and are remarkable for making with their wings as they cleave the air a whistling sound, thought to resemble the tinkling of bells, whence the German name _die Sch.e.l.le Ente_, Bell Duck, the Norfolk provincial name Rattle-Wing, and the systematic name _Clangula_. The young male does not make this noise, and having also dissimilar plumage from the adult, has been described by some authors as a distinct species under the name of Morillon.

The food of the Golden Eye varies with its haunts. In estuaries it feeds on crustaceous and molluscous animals and small fish, which it obtains by diving. In rivers and lakes it feeds princ.i.p.ally on the larvae and pupae of insects, for which also it dives in clear deep water. The call-note is an unmelodious quack or croak.

The Golden Eye breeds only in high lat.i.tudes, and builds its nest in holes of trees, often at the height of twelve or fifteen feet from the water, into which it has been seen to convey its young one by one, holding them under the bill, and supported on its neck. The Lapps, in order to supply themselves with eggs, are in the habit of placing in the trees, on the banks of the rivers and lakes frequented by these birds, boxes with an entrance hole, which, though invariably robbed, are visited again and again.

The Golden Eye is found in many countries of Europe, in Northern Asia, and in North America.

THE LONG-TAILED DUCK, OR 'CALLOO'

HARELDA GLACIaLIS

_Winter plumage_--head, neck, elongated scapulars, under parts, and lateral tail-feathers white; a large patch of chestnut-brown on each cheek; flanks ash-grey; rest of the plumage brownish black; two central tail-feathers very long; bill black, with a transverse orange band; irides orange; feet yellow with dark membranes. Length, including the tail, twenty-two inches. The _female_ wants the white scapulars and elongated tail; head and neck dark brown and greyish white; below the ear-coverts a patch of brown; neck in front light brown, clouded with darker brown; upper plumage generally dark brown, under white. Length sixteen inches. Eggs greenish white, tinged with buff.

Though a few specimens of this beautiful bird are obtained from time to time in various parts of England, especially on the coast of the eastern counties, it cannot be considered other than a rarity. 'Among the northern islands of Scotland, and along the coasts of the mainland', Macgillivray tells us,'these birds make their appearance in October, in small flocks, which gradually enlarge by the accession of new families. In the Bay of Cromarty, where they are very common, it is pleasant to see them in small flocks scattered over the water. They are most expert swimmers, and live on bivalve sh.e.l.lfish and crustacea, which they obtain by diving in shallow or moderately deep water. The male in swimming raises his tail obliquely, in rough water almost erects it, and is remarkable for the grace and vivacity of his movements. Their flight is rapid, direct, and generally performed at the height of a few feet. They rise easily from the water, especially when facing a breeze, and alight rather abruptly. Sometimes during the day, but more frequently at night, they emit various loud and rather plaintive cries, as well as cacklings of shorter guttural notes.' Mr.