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A study of habitat selection and feeding behaviour of brown teal (Anas castanea chlorotis) was conducted on Great Barrier Island from 7 to 14 February 1973. In the Port Fitzroy area, teal fed almost exclusively in the tidal estuaries. Feeding was tide-regulated. and foods seemed to be invertebrates selected on a declining tide. During high tide, teal usually roosted in the shade of trees. At several sites on the eastern part of the island, teal fed in slow-moving freshwater streams or brackish lagoons. In addition to dabbling and upending, teal dived regularly and efficiently. By a creek at Whangapoua Beach, most of 112 teal fed in the uplands either by probing in grass or by grabbing insect larvae from forbs. Teal also fed in the uplands at night. Brown teal are very adaptable in feeding sites and fill the niche of both aquatic dabbler and ground-feeder. They are most abundant in estuarine situations, and the survival of the species depends upon protection of suitable habitats. Intensive human use of estuaries on the mainland probably is responsible for the drastic decline of the species.