Teal
a popular name for any individual of the genus Querquedula. They are the smallest of the ducks, and widely distributed over the world, generally frequenting rivers and lakes, and feeding, principally at night, on aquatic insects, worms, small mollusks and vegetable mat- TEAL plentiful in most parts of Europe; length is about 14 inches, head of male brownish-red, the body transversely undulated with dusky lines, white line above and another below the eye, speculum black and green. It nests on the margins of lakes or rivers, collecting a mass of vegetable matter, lining it with down, and laying 8 or 10 eggs. The flesh is extremely delicate, and the bird might be be advantageously introduced into the poultry yard. Q. circia is the garganey, or summer Q. circia is the garganey, or teal; Q. carolinensis, the green-winged teal of the United States, closely resembles the common teal, but has a white crescent in front of the bend of the wings; Q. discors, with the same habitat, is the blue-winged teal. Aix galericulata the Mandarin duck, is sometimes called the Chinese teal.