The New Student's Reference Work/Teal

Teal, small ducks belonging to the group of river-ducks. They are abundant in Europe, America and most other parts of the world. There are ten or fifteen kinds in the United States. The two best-known forms are the green-winged and the blue-winged teal. The former is a beautiful little duck, about 14 inches long, abundant during migrations and one of the best ducks as food. It feeds on seeds of grass, small acorns, fallen grapes, water-insects, small snails and worms. The blue-winged teal, with a blue band across the wings, is larger, being about 16 inches long. It is the most numerous of the smaller ducks in the eastern United States. West of the Rocky Mountains it is replaced by the cinnamon teal.