Teal

tel, a handsome, undersized, fresh water duck resembling the wood-duck in coloring. There are many species well distributed throughout the world. The species best known to American sportsmen are the blue-winged and the green-winged teal. A third kind is the cinnamon teal. They are much alike in their habits. Relying on their diminutive size and swiftness of flight, they are bolder than the larger mallard or canvasback. In flight, their wings make a peculiar whistling noise. In lighting, they dive promptly into cover without hovering about to detect danger. A flying teal comes down the wind at from 80 to 100 miles an hour. Less dainty in their food than their larger associates, they are known often as mud-ducks. In British Columbia the green-wing haunts the streams, feeding on putrid salmon until it is unfit for table use. In its winter home among the rice swamps of the south, its flesh acquires an exquisite flavor. See Duck.