The _gadwall_, or grey duck, is an ornamental bird; but it is of little use to have it in pleasure-grounds, as it is so shy, and so fond of hiding itself among thick weeds and long grass, that the pair in the Zoological Society's gardens are scarcely ever seen. The _pintail duck_, or sea pheasant, though also shy in its native habitats, is more easily tamed, and is well deserving of being kept on ornamental pieces of water, not only from the beauty of its plumage, but from the singular appearance produced by its long tail when it is swimming on the water. This bird has a singular patch of green on its wings, and yellow feet. It is very difficult to get it to breed. The _teal_ is the smallest of the British ducks, and one of the prettiest. Its breast is spotted with black tinged with purple, and it has a rich dark-brown mark on its head, encircling the eye and spreading down the back of the neck. The teal bears confinement well, and it breeds regularly every year in the gardens of the Zoological Society. The eggs are white tinged with buff, and generally about an inch and a half in length. The nest is formed of decayed vegetable matter, lined with down and feathers, and it contains eight or ten eggs. The teal feeds on grass and water plants, and also on various kinds of insects; but, when kept in this country all the year, during the winter it requires grain. The _widgeon_, Mr. Waterton tells us, "is a much more familiar bird than either the pochard or the teal. While these congregate on the water, beyond the reach of man, the widgeon appears to have divested itself of the timidity observable in all other species of wild-fowl, and approaches very near to our habitations." The widgeon has such a shrill cry, that it is sometimes called the whistling duck. The American widgeon is the constant attendant on the _canvass-back duck_, so celebrated in the United States for its excellence as an article of food. These ducks have been introduced into England, but they do not thrive in this country probably for want of a species of Vallisnèria on which they feed in their native land. The best way of managing them would be, to give them plenty of grain, particularly wheat, of which they are remarkably fond; though, probably, buck-wheat would answer the purpose, and would be much more economical. The Vallisnèria, also, on which they feed, might be introduced into England, though it would require to be grown in running water. The _eider duck_ is very scarce on ornamental pieces of water, though it is abundant in the North, particularly on the Fern Islands off the coast of Northumberland, and especially on St. Cuthbert's rock; and hence it is sometimes called St Cuthbert's duck. It was long supposed that the eider duck would not live in confinement; but the Earl of Derby has several in his splendid collection at Knowsley, which were reared by feeding them on slugs and other mollusca.