The Chestnut Teal

The chestnut teal are dabbling in the shallows of the lake The loud quack of the female and the soft whistle of the drake He is of dark brown and chestnut colouring, dark neck and head of a glossy green And she is of a mottled gray birds I have often seen In my many walks by the brackish lake in the park of the town To be often seen within their range their one claim to bird renown Like black duck and like gray teal their numbers seem to grow The small dabblers of the town park lake that everybody know Though they live close to human habitation of humans they are shy If they think you are too close to them to the centre of the lake they fly They always do seem ill at ease when humans to them near Perhaps they have been shot at and man have learned to fear They live in the big town park lake not remote from Humankind But they are wary and secretive and their nests are hard to find.