i id ae eens Doe <3 5 wan s Se Hire LAS RS ee CO Oe THE FIELD MUSEUM I nin 100015 4261 OU as |[ cHicaco Ty _\| NATURAL HISTORY |f- MUSEUM enna oe ‘igi: es PLETE ei PR DAE ENO AIOE MT ENRY BOARDMAN CO HIS BOOK TTT TTT TTT TT TTT TT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT a acc aad a el li ’ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from Field Museum of Natural History Library http://archive.org/details/gamebirdswildfowO0Ojerd THE GAME BIRDS WILD FOWL OF INDIA: BEING DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL THE SPECIES OF GAME BIRDS, SNIPE, AND DUCK FOUND IN INDIA, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR HABITS AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. BY T. C JERDON, SURGEON MAJOR, MADRAS ARMY, AUTHOR OF “ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN ORNITHOLOGY,” “THE BIRDS OF INDIA,” &c. Ouleutin: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR AT THE MILITARY ORPHAN PRESS, 6, BANKSHALL STREET, 1864, dE a ACs. =O The following pages are a verbatim transcript from the Author's ‘ Birds of India,’ relating to the Game birds and Wiaild-fowl of India, and are put in a separate form to meet the views of such sportsmen as do not care to possess a general work on the Ornithology of India. The only birds omitted, which might perhaps have been in- troduced, are the European Crane, Grus cinerea, and the Demoiselle Crane, Anthropoides virgo, both occasionally called Koolung by sportsmen, though the name is properly restricted to the former bird; and these will be found described in the Birds of India, Vol. IT, p, 664 et seg. oy J j - itp a eae ty, | hay Liat Pausch task ati itas b Ll uel il a: ii aaa oft Bis anne Co oes eit navgoney) ald ae, ee - Pikdcuteion, ith aay ediaaciy Me ae yn Pi as “i's mf he t nf it] fs ny hk aio a oa \ cry 4 4 Ts Wade a ag (7 ATs i 3 vi ye aii sha ie -. CONTENTS ——~--6 Oe Sand-grouse or Rock Pigeon Peafowl Pheasants ... Monaul Argus-pheasants Blood-pheasant Pukras or Koklas Cheer Kalij Jungle-fowl Spur-fowl Snow-pheasants Snow-partridge Partridges Black-Partridge Painted Do. Chukor Do. Seesee Do. Grey Do. Kyah Do. EG Do. Bush-quails Quails Bustard-quail Bustards Houbara Florikin Woodcock ... Saipe Flamingo Geese Spur-winged Goose Cotton Teal Whistling-teal Braminy Duck Shieldrake ... sa Shoveller Wild duck ... Gadwall Pintail ane Wigeon ses oes Teal ae ee oie Pochards oS Mergansers Ee RDS Or PNA Orv. RASORES. Syn. Galline, Linn.—Gallinacet, Vieillot—Pulveratrices of some —Gallinaceous birds—Game birds. Bill short, vaulted, more or less bent down at the tip ; nostrils pierced ina membrane covering the base of the bill, and pro- tected by a cartilaginous scale ; wings usually short and rounded, but ample; tail very variable, both in length and form, of from twelve to eighteen feathers; legs and feet strong, feathered to the tarsus, which is frequently spurred in the male; three toes before and one behind, the posterior one typically short, and articulated above the plane of the anterior toes, wanting in a few; nails strong, blunt, and but slightly curved. The Gallinaceous birds, of which the domestic fowl may be taken as the type, comprise the most important and useful members of the whole class. ‘The name of the order which I have adopted, as being in conformity with those of the other orders, and, moreover, in general use by English Ornithologists, is taken from their habit of scraping in.the ground to procure theirfood. Unlike the order Gemitores, it contains a considerable variety of distinct types. Taking them generally, they may be said to be birds of moderate or rather large size, heavy form, with a strong, short, and arched bill; very stout legs and feet, with the hind toe usually small and raised, and the shank furnished, in many, with aspur. In two of the families, however, the hind toe is on the same plane as the anterior ones, and in one family often absent entirely. The front toes are usually joined at their base by a short connecting web. In all cases, they seek their food on the ground; and this consists of grain, seeds, roots, buds, and insects. Many are polygamous, and in these, the male bird is larger, and adorned with much richer plumage than the female; and many are furnished with crests of various forms. The hen is usually more (27 2 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. prolific than in any previous tribe. They are often social, in some groups even gregarious; they do not wash, but roll themselves in the dust, and almost all nestle on the ground. The young of all are born covered with down, and run as soon as hatched. They are more or less capable of domestication, and all afford an excellent and wholesome food for man. The head is smaller than in the birds of the preceding orders, and the neck longer; the wings are generally rounded and feeble, the sternum from its large notches affording but little space for the attachment of the pectoral muscles which, however, are well developed, giving the bird a plump appearance; and the flight, though not capable of being continued, is yet tolerably rapid and powerful, though labored, for a short distance. The bill in most is thick, short, and convex, slender in two of the families. The tail is short and even in some, rounded in others, forked in several, and lengthened and graduated in a few. The skull of most Rasores is narrow, but slightly raised, and without ridges, and the bony orbit is incomplete. The cervical vertebree are of greater number than in any of the preceding orders, varying from 13 to 15. The sternum has a double bifur- cation on each side, and the fissures are so wide and deep as to give to the lateral parts of the bone the appearance of a bifur- cated process. The median fissure is the deepest; the keel is short, shallow, and nearly straight; the furcula is anchylosed, and, as in most of the previous groups, is joined to the sternum below by ligaments. The tarsal spur, present in many Gallinaceous birds, and represented by a knob in others, is considered to be the representa- tive of the thumb, and is present in no other order but in this. The dilatation of the cesophagus, called the crop, is large but single ; the gastric glands are complex, and form a complete circle ; the gizzard is extremely strong, the internal coat being thick and hard; and as the birds of this order swallow small stones, gravel, &e., to assist in the trituration of the food, two callous buttons are formed in the gizzard by the constant pressure and friction. The cceca are, in general, highly developed in Gallinaceous birds ; small comparatively in the more aberrant families, enormous in some, especially in the Grouse tribe. The gall bladder is RASOLES. 3 believed to be always present. The trachea is of pretty uniform diameter in most, and the muscles are exceedingly simple, so that the asores cannot modulate their voice. In most of the groups, the accessory plume to the clothing feathers is present, and is large indeed in many. This order is remarkable for comprising so many species capable of domestication, and the common fowl, which undoubtedly takes its origin from the Red Jungle-fowl, has been domesticated from the earliest period. Gallimaceous birds evince many interesting analogies with Ruminating animals among Mammals. The crop may be said to represent the paunch, both being simply dilatations of the cesopha- gus to receive the food, and thoroughly moisten it; and the ceca of both are large. They have both a low degree of intelligence, are easily domesticated, and are more prone to variation than most other tribes. The head, too, is in many of both orders, adorned with appendages, horns, and crests; and they afford more wholesome food to man than any other orders. The Ltasores are found over the greater part of the world; but the finest and the most typical groups, containing, too, the greatest variety of form, are from Asia. Africa possesses one group peculiar to that region, and several others nearly related to Asiatic forms. In America there are but few of the more typical groups, but two of the most aberrant divisions occur there only. In Australia they are sparingly represented by one very aberrant group, and by a very few members of the typical division. Europe and the more Northern portions of both Continents contain one fine group. The nearest approach among Insessorial birds to the Rasores occurs perhaps in some of the American Cuckoos; and _ that remarkable bird, the Hoazin, Opisthocomus cristatus, was placed by some naturalists among those birds, but is better associated with Penelope, a genus of the aberrant Cracide. If that truly wonderful bird, the Lyre-bird of Australia, be really an Insessorial type, however, it must be considered to be a still closer link to the aberrant Megapodide. See further on page 7. On the other side, the Rasores may be said to join 4 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. . the Grallatores through the Bustards; and the Megapodide also appear to have some affinities for the Rails.” I shall divide the Rasores into the following families :— A. Hind toe on the same plane as the anterior ones. 1. Cracide, Curassows and Guans, peculiar to America. 2. Megapodide, Mound-birds, peculiar to Australia and Malayana. B. Hind toe raised above the level of the others, or wanting. 3. Fteroclide, Sand-grouse, chiefly from Africa and Asia, not extending into Malayana. 4. Phasianide, chiefly from Central and Southern Asia. 5. Tetraonide, Grouse and Partridges, found over all the world, but rare in Australia and South America. , 6. Tinamide, mostly American, but sparingly represented in the tropical regions of the Old World, and Australia. Blyth does not admit the separation of the Phasianide and Tetraonide, and certainly these are more nearly related to each other than either of them are to any of the other families; but this appears to be always the case with the more typical groups of any order; and, moreover, the Geographical distribution of each family differs considerably ; for, whilst the Phasianide are, with one limited exception in America, and that a doubtful member, confined to Asia, and more especially to India and Central Asia, the Yetraonide are found over all the world, rare, indeed, but not unrepresented in Australia and South America. The fact of certain species of the two families occasionally breeding together, as the Pheasant and Black-grouse (insisted on by some as a proof of the close alliance of these two genera), I consider to be not more anomalous in this order than it could be of two allied genera of another order interbreeding; and I would regard it simply as an occasional peculiarity in the birds * The subject of the external relations and affinities of various groups of animals, though long insisted on by some naturalists, was, till recently, scouted by many; but the researches and views of Darwin as to the successive development of all created beings, has given a fresh impetus to this interesting subject of enquiry. CRACIDAE. 5 of this group; for those who rely on it as a proof of the close affinity between such birds, would surely not assert that the affinity between the Grouse’ and the Pheasant was greater than that between certain species of Partridges for example, which, though living in the same localities, have not been known to breed together. The family CracipD&, comprising the Curassows and Guans, are exclusively American. They are birds of large or moderate size, with the tarsus moderately long, stout, and destitute of spurs; the toes elongated and slender, and the hind toe long, and on a level with the others. ‘The tail is moderately long, broad, of fourteen stiff feathers, rounded in some, graduated in others. ‘The head of a few is adorned with a crest of recurved feathers; the membrane at the base of the bill is highly colored in some; there is a solid knob at the base of the bill in others; and, in one division, the skin of the throat is naked and dilatable. The sternum has the: crest very deep, and the inner notch reduced to about one-third of the outer. Several have a remarkable con- formation of the trachea, which descends alone the skin behind the sternum, and then, making a curve, re-enters the thorax. The supplementary plume is reduced to a mere downy tuft. These birds dwell in forests, and live on fruit, seeds, and insects, mostly feeding on the ground. Some live in pairs, others in societies. ‘They chiefly nestle upon trees, laying few eggs, in some cases only two; and the young perch as soon as excluded from the egg. ‘They are easily tamed and reared, but have not been domesticated. ‘Their flesh is said to be white, tender, and excellent. By their habits and structure, the Cracide appear to be the link that joins the Pigeons to the Mfasores, approximating the former in the structure of the feet and sternum, as well as in their habit of nestling on trees, and laying but few eggs. Gray divides them into Cractne and Penelopine. ‘The former, the Curassows and Pauxis, are chiefly black, or black and white ; the Guans are of various shades of brown. Near these birds, according to some, should be placed the Cariama, Microdactylus cristatus, of Geoffroy (Dicholophus of Illiger), located by Cuvier at the end of the Plovers. It is a large bird, as big as a Heron 6 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. with long legs, a short hind toe raised above the ground, a moderately long, curved beak, with a wide gape; is of a brownish colour, and crested. In its anatomy it is stated to resemble Gallinaceous birds, differing in having the sternal emarginations less deep, and in a few other points. “It is,” says Blyth, “ essen- tially a Poultry-bird, with long legs.” The family MeGApPopip4&, or Mound-birds, belong to Australia and the Papuan province of the Malayan Archipelago, extending among the islands as far as the Nicobars. They have all very large and strong feet, with large claws, and the hind toe placed on the same plane as the others. The tail is not always developed: but, when present, consists of eighteen feathers. Some have wattles, but most are devoid of those Gallinaceous appendages. The sternum resembles in form, that of the Cracide, and the accessory plume to the body feathers is tolerably developed. The birds of this family lay eggs of most enormous size, and of a somewhat elongated shape, with a thin shell; and they have the peculiar habit of either hatching their eggs by the heat of the sun, or by depositing them in huge masses of decaying leaves and other vegetable matter. Several pairs of birds appear to assist and lay their eggs in the same mound, and the male bird works equally with the female. The eggs are deposited at a regular depth, and at some distance from each other; and the young, when hatched, run at once. The eggs are said to be delicious eating. Gray divides them into Megapodine, and Talegalline. The genus Megapodius contains a large number of species from various islands, chiefly from the more Eastern portions of the Archipelago. They are birds of plain dull greenish brown plu- mage, somewhat smaller than a fowl, and yet the eggs of Megapo- dius nicobariensis are as large, Mr. Blyth tells us, as those of a Pea-fowl. The Leipoa ocellata is the most beautiful bird of the group, and is called the Native Pheasant by Australian colonists. Gray places in this division a very remarkable bird, Mesttes varia- gata of Is. Geoffroy, placed by others among the Rails. Talegalla Latham, the type of the other sub-family, is as large asa Turkey, and is called the Brush-turkey in Australia, from SAND-GROUSE. 7 the naked head and neck which are only clad with a few hair-like feathers; and it is, moreover, furnished with a large yellow wattle. It has bred in the Zoological Gardens of London. ? to Rohilcund and Oude. 41. Sypheotides auritus, Laruam. Otis, apud Lardam—Jarp. and SELBy, IIl. Orn., pl. 40, 92— Belanger, Voy. aux Ind. Orient. Zool., pl. 10—Jerpon, Il. Ind. Orn. pl. 38.—BiytH, Cat. 1542—O. fulva, Sykes, Cat. 167— JERDON, Cat. 282—Charaz or Charas, H. in the South of India— Chulla charz, H. in some parts—Likh, H. in Hindoostan— Tan-mor, Mahr.—Kan-noul, Can.—Niala nimili, Tel., the last three names signifying Ground pea-fowl—Wurragu koh, 'Tam.—Khartitar, of the Bheels near Mhow, 2. ¢, Grass-partridge—vulgo, Ghas ka murghi, or Grass Fowl. Tue Lesser FLORIKIN. Descr.—Male in full breeding plumage, with the head, neck, ear- tufts, medial wing-coverts, and the whole lower plumage deep black, the chin alone being white; lower part of the hind neck and a large patch on the wing white, the rest of the plumage fulvous, beautifully and closely mottled with dark brown; the first three primaries plain dusky brown, the remainder both barred and mottled with brown. The down at the base of all the feathers is a beautiful pale dull rose-colour, and the quills, when freshly moulted, have a beautiful bloom, mingled pink and green, which, however, soon fades. The ear-tufts are about 4 inches long, and have usually three feathers on each side, with the shaft bare, and a small oval web at the tip, curving upwards. The primaries are much acuminated, sometimes ending in a point almost as fine as a needle. _ Bill dusky above, the edges of the upper, and all the lower mandible yellowish; irides pale yellow, clouded with dusky; legs LESSER FLORIKIN. 13t dirty whitish yellow. Length 18 to 19 inches; wing 8; tail 4; bill at front 1,4; tarsus barely 4. Weight 16 to 18 ozs. The female has the prevalent tone of her plumage pale fulvous- yellow, the feathers of the head, back,. wings, and tail, clouded and barred with deep brown, those on the head mostly brown; the fore-neck with two irregular interrupted streaks, increasing on the lower neck and breast, the lower plumage thence being unspotted and albescent; the hind neck is finely speckled with brown; the chin and throat white ; the first three primaries, as in the male, un- spotted brown; wimg-coverts with only a few bars; axillaries brown. Bill, legs, and irides as in the male, but the irides generally unclouded yellow. Length 19 to 21 inches; wing 92; tail nearly 5; bill at front 13; tarsus 44. Weight 20 to 24 ozs. The male, in winter dress, closely resembles the female, but has always some white on the shoulder of the wing; and some of the wing-coverts also partially white; the under wing-coverts being dark brown, whilst im the female they are fulvous. Of course during the vernal and autumnal moults, male birds with every gradation of colour will be met with, and some of these are figured in the _ Bengal Sporting Magazine, and in Belanger’s Voyage. ‘The differ- ence between the size of the male and female is much more marked in this species than in the last. Franklin and Sykes having, in their respective Catalogues, pro- nounced the common Florikin of Central and Southern India distinct from the Black Florikin, I entered at some length in my Catalogue, and also in my Illustrations, into this subject, and from the latter work I extraet the following observations :— ‘My reasons for believing the Black and the common Florikin to be one and the same bird, may be here briefly recapitulated. Istly. “All Black Florikin hitherto examined have been male birds. 2ndly. ‘The Black Florikin agrees exactly in size, and com- parative dimensions, with the male of the eommon Florikin, as described fully by Colonel Sykes, but more especially in the length of wing, and acumination of the primary quills, the points insisted on by him, and most correctly so, as the essential points of difference from the female. 132 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 3rdly. “ Some black feathers are in general to be found on every Cock-bird, not however always noticeable till the feathers of the abdomen are pulled aside; and this mottling with black varies from a feather or two to so many that the bird would be consi- dered by sportsmen a Black Florikin. Athly. “Ihave watched the progressive change in birds at Jalnah, where a few couple always remain and breed, from the garb of the female to the perfect Black Florikin, and back again from this the nuptial plumage, to the more sober livery of the rest of the year. 5thly. ‘‘I have seen more than one specimen of the cock-bird in the usual grey plumage, which, from some cause or other, had not as usual dropped the long ear-feathers, but these had, in con- formity with the change in the system causing this alteration of plumage, become white. «‘ These reasons will, I trust, be considered sufficient to convince the most sceptical sportsmen of the identity of the common and Black Florikin. Other testimony might be brought forward in support, but I shall only cite that of Lieut. Foljambes, in a brief paper in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, who, from observations in Guzerat, where they appear very numerous, states it as his belief that they are the same bird, but that the Black one is only met with in Guzerat during the monsoon, which, as we shall soon see, is the breeding season.” The Leek or Lesser Florikin is found throughout India, from near the foot of the Himalayas to the Southernmost districts, but has not, I believe, been seen in Ceylon. It is more rare in Northern India and Bengal, but has been killed even in Arrakan. It is most abundant in Central and Western India during the rains, arid in Southern India in the cold weather, whilst those that have occurred in Bengal and neighbouring districts have chiefly been seen in the hot weather or commencement of the rains. I saw it on the banks of the Ganges in April and May, and know of its having been occasionally killed in Purneah in May and June. Jn the Carnatic, Mysore, the Deccan, and Northern Circars, it is chiefly found in the cold weather, from October to February and March; and in the westernmost portion of Central India and Western India, Guzerat, the neighbourhood of Malwah LESSER FLORIKIN. 133 and Indore, and the southernmost portion of Rajpootana, chiefly during the rains, from June to September. The few that I saw in Saugor and the neighbouring country, occurred during the hot weather, at which time they leave the dried-up districts of Southern India, and migrate north in search of suitable shelter and food. As great part of the eastern portion of Central India, from the Godavery to Midnapore and Chota Nagpore, consists more or less of forest and jungles, the majority are drawn westwards into Malwah, Rajpootana, and Guzerat. Few occur in Malabar, but in Southern Canara there is at least one locality where they may be found in the cold weather. “The lesser Florikin frequents long grass in preference to any other shelter. It is, however, often to be met with in erain fields, in fields of Cotton and Dholl, and in the Carnatic so much in those of the grain called Warragoo, as to be called in Tamool Warragoo kolee, or Warragoo Fowl. It feeds chiefly in the. morning, and is then easily raised, but during the heat of the day it lies very close, and is often flushed with difficulty. I have known an instance of one being killed by a horse stepping on it. Now and then an exceedingly wary one is met with, which runs to a great distance, and takes wing well out of shot. When walking or running it raises its tail, as is represented on the drawing, the lateral feathers diverging downwards, whilst those of the centre are the most elevated, as is seen in domestic fowls, &c., forming what. Swainson calls an erect or compressed tail. The chief food of the Florikin is grasshoppers. I have found also blister beetles, (A/ylabris) Scarabet, centipedes, and even small lizards. When flushed suddenly it utters a kind of sharp ‘ quirk,’ or note of alarm, and it is said also to have a feeble plaintive chirp or piping note, when running or feeding. Its flesh is very delicate, and of excellent flavour, and it is the most esteemed here, of all the game birds. Its pursuit is consequently a favorite sport, and from the open nature of the ground it frequents, it is well adapted for being hawked. I have killed it occasionally with the Luggur, but generally with the Skaheen, and have already given an account of the manner of hunting it. Should the Shaheen, miss her first stoop, I have seen the Florikin accelerate its speed so 134 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. greatly, that the falcon was unable to come up with it again under 600 yards or so. I have seen one struck dead by the Wokhad, Aquila Vindhiana; I had slipped a Luggur at it, which was in hot pursuit, though at some little distance behind, when two of these Eagles came down from a vast height, and joined in the chase. One of them made a headlong swoop at it, which the Florikin most skilfully avoided, only however to fall a victim to the talons of the other, which stooped almost immediately after its confederate, and dashed the poor bird lifeless to the ground. It had not, however, time to pick it up, for I rode up, and the Eagles soared off most unwillingly, and circled in the air long above me. The Florikin had its back laid open the whoie length.”* A few birds appear to breed in all parts of Southern India, from July to November, for I have put the hen bird off her nest in August in the Deccan, and in October near Trichinopoly ; and _have heard of the hen having been found incubating still later, up to January indeed; but the majority breed, in Guzerat, Malwa and Southern Rajpootana, from July to September. I have found the cock-bird commencing to assume the black plumage at the end of April, and have killed them with the black ear-tuft just beginning to sprout, hardly any other black feathers having appeared. In other instances I have noticed that these ear-tufts did not make their appearance till the bird was quite mottled with black. The full and perfect breeding plumage is generally com- pleted during July and August. At this season the male bird generally takes up a position on some rising ground, from which it wanders but little, for many days even ; and during the morning especially, but in cloudy weather at all times of the day, every now and then rises a few feet perpendicularly into the air, uttering at the same time a peculiar low croaking call, more like that of a frog or cricket than that of a bird, and then drops down again. This is probably intended to attract the females, who, before their eggs are laid, wander greatly ; or perhaps to summon a rival cock, for I have seen two in such desperate fight as to allow me to approach within thirty yards before they ceased their battle. SSS EE * Jerdon’s Ill, Ind. Orn, 1 e. LESSER FLORIKIN. 135 The female lays her eggs in some thick patch of grass, four or five in number, (one writer says seven,) of a dark olive colour, with or without a few darker blotches, of a very thick stunted, ovoid form, very obtuse at the larger end. During this season the females are very shy and wary, seldom rising, though often run- ning great distances; and when closely approached and unable to run further, perhaps, without being seen, squatting so close as to allow a man or dog almost to tread on them before they take flight. I have never put up or taken a young Florikin. Soon after in- cubation has fairly commenced, the cock-birds appear to leave the breeding district, and gradually migrate southwards. At Trichino- poly, about the end of September and beginning of October, the birds first met with are all cock-birds, generally in pretty fair plumage, but very rapidly assuming their more sober winter garb ; and females are very rare till much later in the season. The Lesser Florikin is occasionally snared and brought in alive by some bird-catchers, but the gun is had resort to in general to procure it. It is invariably called Charraz by all Mussulmans in Southern India, although Mr. Hogdson asserts that I had no right to apply that name to it, and I have not yet learnt in what parti- cular districts it is called Lakh; most probably in the N. W. Provinces. I have not been able to trace the origin of the Anclo- Indian word ‘ Florikin,’ but was once informed that the little Bustard of Europe was sometimes called Flanderkin. Latham gives the word ‘Flercher’ as an English name, and this, apparently, has the same origin as Florikin. The small Bustard of Europe, Otis tetrox, L., now classedas Tetra campestris, is stated to have occurred in the Peshawur valley ; but as I have not seen a specimen from that locality, nor heard of one having been examined, I shall only give a brief description of the species here, without enumerating it as one of the ‘ Birds of India.’ The bill and legs are short, the male has the usual mottled brown plumage above, the wing-coverts and the base of the primaries white, the rest of the primaries greyish-black, and the secondaries patched black and white; the tail with two dark cross- bars, and the tip and base white; cheeks, ear-coverts, and neck bluish-grey, edged with black, and below this a white ring in the 136 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. form of a necklace all round the neck. Length 17 inches; wing 93. The female has less white than the male; wants the white ring, and the neck is coloured like the back. In winter the males are said to resemble females. ‘This small Bustard, or what in India would be called a Florikin, occurs throughout Central and West- ern Asia, and North Africa, and is said at times to be gregarious. It is stated to frequent open plains, and to feed chiefly on vege- table matter. Africa appears to be the Head Quarters of the Bustard family, and there are several forms peculiar to that Continent, whence some spread into Arabia. Otis rhaad, Shaw, O. cerulescens. Vieill., (Verraucu, A. Smith), and O. scolopacea, Temminck, (Vigorsii, Smith), are classed by Bonaparte under Trachelotis, Reichenbach; and O. afra, Linn., and O. afroides, Smith, are placed under Afrotis, Bonaparte. The last two Bustards (if really distinct from each other) have quite the coloration of the Syphe- otides group ; and the same remark applies to O. rhaad. Otis senegalensis, Vieillot., (rhaad apud Riipell) and O. melano- gaster, Riippell, are placed under JLissotis, Reich. The latter also has much the plumage of a Sypheotides in non-breeding dress. Perhaps, from a want of knowledge of the changes of plu- mage of these birds, some of the above species will require to be withdrawn. Tribe LONGIROSTRES, Cuvier. Bill more or less lengthened, slender, and feeble ; wings usually long and pointed ; tail short; tarsus moderately long; toes mode- rate, the exterior one generally joined to the middle toe by a short web, and the hallux short and raised, absent in a very few. This tribe contains a number of generally small wading birds, classed by Linnaeus in Scolopax and Tringa, and many closely resembling each other in colour and conformation. Most have a double moult, and the change of plumage is considerable in many. All are migratory, and several associate in winter in large flocks; others are more or less solitary. They feed on small molluscs, worms, and crustacea, for which they bore in the soft mud of rivers, lakes, or marshes ; and the bill of some is peculiarly sensitive at the tip. They nidificate on the ground, laying usually SNIPES. 137 four somewhat conical eggs, coloured something like those of the Plovers, and the young run as soon as they leave the shell. The sternum has a double emargination, the outermost the largest, and the keel is high; the bony orbit is very deficient. The stomach is a muscular gizzard, and the intestines are long, with small or moderate ceca. The females are, in many cases, larger than the males; in avery few, the males are much larger than the females, and, in these cases, are polygamous. They are very closely related to the Plovers in structure and internal anatomy, but differ in their more lengthened bill, slender form, more aquatic habits, and mode of colouration. The Longirostres comprise one large family, the Scolopacide, and a very small group, differing from them only in external conformation and colour, the Himantopide; these last may be said to bear the same relation to the rest of the tribe, that the Sea- plovers (Hematopodide) do to the other Plovers, and to which, indeed, these birds have a general similarity of colour. Fam. SCOLOPACIDA. Bill typically long, slender, in many somewhat soft towards the tip, in others hard throughout; wings lengthened, as are the ter- tials; tail short; tarsus moderately long; toes slightly united by a very short web. Plumage brown, of various shades above, white, more or less tinged brown, or ashy beneath. The Snipes and Sand-pipers form a continued series, graduating into each other, with various modifications of the bill, as to length, strength, hardness, and form. The bill is short in some, as in Tringa; curved in the Curlews; somewhat turned upwards in Limosa and Terekia; soft in the Snipes, moderately hard in Totanus. They may be divided, according to these modifications, (and in one case from the structure of the feet), into Scolopacine,. True Snipes; Limosine, Godwits; Numenine, Curlews; Tringine, Stints; Phalaropine, and Totanine, Phalaropes; Sand-pipers. Sub-fam. SCOLOPACIN#, Snipes. Bill long, straight, rather soft, swollen at the tip, which is gently bent over the lower mandible; tarsus rather short; tail varying in the number of feathers. 138 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. The Snipes have the richest plumage of the family, the dorsals and scapular feathers being often streaked with black and yellow. Their bills are highly sensitive and soft at the tip, and in drying, shrivel up so as to appear punctured. They feed on worms and soft Jarve, are chiefly nocturnal in their habits, and have large eyes set far backwards, giving them a peculiar physiognomy. They mostly affect concealment, and some of them even frequent woods. Gen. ScoLopax, Linn. (as restricted.) Syn. usticola, Vieillot. Char.—Bill long, thin, more or less rounded, of soft texture, swollen at the tip, and obtuse; upper mandible channeled for the greater part of its length, slightly bent downwards at the tip; lower mandible channeled only to the middle; nostrils basal, longitudinal; wings moderately long, very pointed, 1st quill long est; tail short, of twelve soft uniform feathers; tibia plumed to the joint; toes free to the base; tarsus short, stout; hind toe short. This genus, now restricted to the true Wood-cocks, differs from the Snipe chiefly by the tibia being feathered to the knee. It comprises birds of larger size and stouter make than the Snipes, and perfectly sylvan in their habits, as the English name implies. The humerus is stated to be without air-cells. 42. S$colopax rusticola, Linyzus. JERDON, Cat. 335—BLyTH, Cat. 1605—S. indicus, Hopeson. ——GouLp, Birds of Europe, pl. 319—Sim-titar, or Tutatar, H. of some.—Sim-Kukra in Kumaon. THE WooD-COCK. Descr.—Forehead and crown ash-grey, tinged rufous; a dusky streak from gape to eyes; occiput, with four broad transverse bars of blackish brown; the rest of the upper part variegated with chesnut brown, ochre-yellow, and ash-grey, with zigzag lines and irregular spots of black; throat white; rest of under parts yellowish white, passing into rufous on the breast and forepart of neck with cross wavy bars of dusky brown; quills barred ferruginous and black ; tail black, the outer webs edged rufous, tips ash-grey above, silvery white beneath; bill fleshy grey; legs livid; irides dark brown. WOOD-COCK. 139 Length 14 to nearly 16 inches; wing 8 to 8}; tail 3}. Bill (front) 3 to 352,; tarsus 14 to 1,8); mid-toe 1. Average weight 9 to 10 ounces, varies from 7 to 14 extent of wing 24 to 26 inches; ounces and more. The female is larger, with the colours more dull. The wings reach to about 14 inches from the end of the tail. The Wood-cock is a winter visitant to the more elevated wooded regions of India, the Himalayas, the Neilgherries, the Pulneys, Shervaroys, Coorg, and doubtless all the higher ranges of Southern India. During its periodical migrations north and south, indivi- duals are occasionally killed in various parts of the country. Several were procured in the Calcutta market by Mr. Blyth; I have heard of its having been at least once obtained in the Madras market; and various other instances of its having been procured in different parts of the country have come to my know- ledge, viz., at Chittagong, Berhampore, Noacolly, Tipperah, Dacca, Masulipatam, &c. The Wood-cock is late in arriving, generally not appearing before the middle of October, and usually later; it leaves in February. It frequents damp woods, especially if there is a stream running through, or boggy and swampy spots either in the wood or just at the edge, and the holes made by its bill when probing the soft soil for worms, may often be noticed, if carefully looked for. On the Himalayas, in general, it is difficult to procure, owing to the extent of the woods and the steepness of the eround; but on the Neilgherries and other hill ranges of Southern India, the woods are small, well defined, and easily beaten by men and dogs, and Wood-cock shooting is a favorite pastime with sports- men. I have killed 8 in a forenoon, and have known 16 and 20 killed by two or three guns. In Coorg, where the woods are very extensive, the sportsman walks up some likely-looking wet nullah, with one or two men on each side, and gets a snap shot now and then. Mountaineer states that they breed in the hills near the snows, in considerable numbers. At this season they are seen towards dusk, about the open glades and borders of the forest on the higher ridges, flying rather high in the air, in various directions, and uttering a loud wailing cry. Major Walter Sherwill observed the same in the interior of Sikim. 140 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. The only other true Wood-cocks are S. saturata, Horsfield, from Java; and S. minor, Gmelin, (Americana, Audub.) separated by Bonaparte as Rusticola. Gen. GALLINAGO, Stephens. Char.—Tibia bare for a small space above the joint; tail with from 16 to 28 feathers, the outer ones often narrowed; otherwise as in Scolopax. This genus comprises the various Snipes, which differ con- siderably in the form and structure of the tail, and also slightly in the wings; they have been considerably sub-divided by Bonaparte. 1st. Of rather large size, wings broad, full, and soft; tail of 16 or 18 feathers; the laterals slightly narrowed, Gen. Nemoricola, Hodgson and Bonap. 43. Gallinago nemoricola, Honcson. JERDON, Cat. 336—BLyYTH, Cat. 1606—JERpDon, Il. Ind. Orn. pl. 9—Nemoricola nipalensis, HoDGson. THE Woop SNIPE. Descr.—Top of the head black, with rufous-yellow longish mark- igs; upper part of back black, the feathers margined with pale rufous-yellow, and often smeared bluish; scapulars the same, some of them with zig-zag markings; long dorsal plumes black with zig-zag marks of rufous grey, as are most of the wing- coverts; winglet and primary-coverts dusky black, faintly edged whitish; quills dusky ; lower back and upper tail-coverts barred reddish and dusky ; tail with the central feathers black at the base, chesnut with dusky bars towards the tip ; laterals dusky with whitish bars; beneath, the chin white, the sides of the neck ashy, smeared with buff and blackish, breast ashy, smeared with buff and obscurely barred; the rest of the lower plumage, with the thigh-coverts, whitish, with numerous dusky bars; lower tail- coverts rufescent, with dusky marks, and the under wing-coverts barred black and whitish. Bill reddish brown, paler at the base beneath; irides dusky brown; legs plumbeous-green. Length 124 to 13 inches; extent 18; HIMALAYAN SOLITARY SNIPE. 141 wing 52; tail 24; bill at front 23; tarsus 13; middle toe 142. Average weight 5} to 7 oz. This solitary Snipe or Wood Snipe is found in the Himalayas, the Neileherries, Coorg, and occasionally in Wynaad and other elevated regions of Southern India and Ceylon; it is also said to occur in considerable numbers in the Saharunpoor district, below Hurdwar, and generally in the extensive swamps at the foot of the Himalayas. It frequents the edges of woods near swamps, and patches of brushwood in swampy ground. It is by no means either common or abundant any where, and on the Neilgherries, but few couples are shot in general in one season. It flies heavily, and having a large expanse of wing, is not unfrequently taken for a Wood-cock. One from the Neilgherries is recorded in the Bengal Sporting Magazine for 1833 as having weighed 13} oz. Was it not a Wood-cock ? 2nd. Of large or moderate size; the tail with from 20 to 28 feathers; the laterals (five to ten on each side) highly attenuated and stiff; in some cases increasing gradually in width. Legs and feet slightly smaller. Gen. Spalura, Bonap. 44, Gallinago solitaria, Hopcason. J. A. S. VI. 491.—BiytuH, Cat. 1607. THE HIMALAYAN SCLITARY SNIPE. Descr.—Head above brown, with pale mesial and superciliary lines; a dark band from the base of the bill gradually lost in the ear-coverts ; upper plumage much asin the common Snipe, but the whole of the feathers more spotted and barred with rufous; a conspicuous pale buff stripe along the scapulars and inner edge of the wing; primaries brown, with a narrow pale edging exter- nally, and the innermost tipped with white; secondaries and tertiaries broadly barred with dark brown and pale rufous; tail deep black at the base with a broad subterminal band of bright ashy-rufous, tipped brown, and the extreme tip pale; outermost rectrices finely barred; breast olive-brown with white dashes, or white and brown bars, passing into white on the abdomen and vent, with some olivaceous bands on the upper belly and flanks, and the sides of the vent and under-tail-coverts whitish. 142 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. Bill reddish brown; irides dark; feet greenish yellow. Length 123 inches; extent 20; wing 63; tail 83; bill at front 22; tarsus 13; middle-toe 14. Weight 64 oz. The Himalayan Solitary Snipe has hitherto only been found in, the Himalayas, and no details of its peculiar haunts are recorded. It inhabits thin forests, near swampy ground, and in winter has been killed at from 3,000 to 6,000 feet of elevation. Iam not aware if it occurs elsewhere, but it will most probably be found in summer in Thibet and Central Asia; indeed, Bonaparte states that there is a species from Japan which scarcely differs, having 20 to 24 rectrices, the outer ones narrow; itis very probably Swinhoe’s Gallin. megala, from China. 45. Gallinago stenura, TremMinck. Scolopax, apud TemmMincx.—BuyvH, Cat. 1609—S. gallinago apud JERDON, Cat. 337 (in part)—S. heterura, and S. biclavus, Hopason—S. Horsfieldii, GRAy—Harpwicke, Ill. Ind. Zool. 2, pl. 54.— THE PIN-TAILED SNIPE. Descr.—Very similar to the Common Snipe in colour; but the under-wing-coverts and axillaries richly barred with dusky and white. Of slightly smaller size than the Common Snipe; length 9 to 10 inches; wing 54; bill barely (in general) 23 inches; tail 2 to 22; tarsus and feet slightly shorter. The Pin-tailed Snipe resembles the Common Snipe so closely that it is very seldom discriminated by sportsmen, and often passed over by the Naturalist. It can, however, be recognised at once by the richly barred lower wing-coverts, by its shorter beak, and most conspicuously by its remarkable tail, the lateral feathers of which are very narrow, rigid, and pointed. I regret that I have no information of its habits, or of its times of appearance and departure, as distinguished from the Common Snipe. 3rd. With from 14 to 16. tail-feathers, of nearly uniform width; restricted Gallinago, Bonap. a COMMON SNIPE. 1438 46. Gallinago scolopacinus, Bonav. BuytTa, Cat. 1610—S. gallinago, Linn.—Syxgs, Cat. 197— JERDON, Cat. 337 (in part)—S. uniclavus, Hopason—GouLp, Birds of Europe, pl. 821-2,—S. burka, LarHam and BoNAPARTE— Bharka Bharak, H.—(Chaha, Chahar, H. in various parts*)— Soorkhab, of some Shikaries, 7. e., the Sucker of water—Muku puredi, Tel., 2. e., the long-billed Z'urniz—More-ulan, Tam.—Chegga, Beng. THE COMMON SNIPE. Descr.—Crown black, divided longitudinally by a yellowish white line; a dusky brown eye-streak, and a yellowish superciliary one; back and scapulars velvet black, crossed with chesnut brown bars, and with longitudinal streaks of ochre-yellow; wing- coverts dusky brown, edged with reddish white; quills blackish ; chin and throat white; cheeks, neck, and breast above mottled black and ferruginous; flanks barred white and dusky; the lower part of the breast. and abdomen pure white; tail black, with the terminal third red-brown, barred black and tipped whitish; lower wing-coverts white, very faintly barred. Bill reddish brown, paler at the base; irides deep brown; legs greyish green. Length 11 to 12 inches; extent 17 to 18; wing 5 to 53, about 1 or 14 inches shorter than tail; tail 24; bill at front 23 to 3; tarsus 14; middle toe 14. Weight 32 to 5 oz. Both this and the last species of Snipe are very abundant in India during the cold weather, and are not, in general, discriminat- ed by sportsmen. Snipe arrive in the North of India in small numbers early in August, but not in any quantity till the end of September and October. A few are generally found in the Calcutta market early in August, and in the Madras market by the 25th of the same month; the last birds do not leave before the first week of May. In Upper Burmah, where | I noticed the very early appearance of the Common Swallow, Snipe come in small numbers towards the middle or latter end of July; but I very much doubt their breeding there, or in the marshes of Bengal, as Adams states that they do. They frequent marshes, inundated ee ae Ree RL ee * According to Buchanan, Chaka is applied to various small Waders, but not correctly to the Snipe. 144 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. paddy fields, rice stubble fields, edges of jheels, tanks, and river- courses, feeding, chiefly at night, on worms and various aquatic insects. Their pursuit is a favorite sport throughout India, and vast numbers are occasionally killed. I have heard of 100 couples having been killed to one gun in the South of India; and sixty or seventy brace is no very uncommon bag for a first-rate shot in some parts of the country. Snipe always rise with a piping call, and fly against the wind; occasionally they alight on bare or ploughed land, and not unfrequently take refuge in some neighbouring low jungle. Snipe breed in Northern Europe and Asia, laying four eggs yellowish white, spotted with brown, chiefly at the large end. The peculiar humming noise made by some Snipe during their flight at the breeding season, was shown by Meves of Stockholm to depend on the outer tail-feathers; and the noise can be imitated by drawing these feathers attached to a wire rapidly through the air. The particular sound varies in each species according to the structure of the tail. Ath. Tail of 12 uniform feathers; of small size. Lymnocryptes, Kaup. 47. Gallinago gallinula, Linnzvus. SYKES, Cat. 198—JERDON, Cat. 338—BuLytTH, Cat. 1611— GOULD, Birds of Europe, pl. 319. THE JACK SNIPE. Descr.—Crown divided by a black band slightly edged with reddish brown, extending from the forehead to the nape; beneath this and parallel to it are two streaks of yellowish white, separated ° by another of black; a dusky line between the gape and the eye; back and scapulars black, glossed with green, and with purple reflections; the scapulars with the outer webs creamy yellow, forming two conspicuous longitudinal bands extending from the shoulders to the tail; quills dusky ; wing-coverts black, edged with pale brown and white ; throat white; neck in front and upper breast pale yellow brown tinged with ashy, and with dark longitu- dinal spots; lower breast and belly pure white; tail dusky, edged with pale ferruginous. JACK SNIPER. 145 Bill bluish at the base, black towards the tip ; irides deep brown; legs and feet greenish grey. Length 84. inches; extent 14; wing 4}; tail not quite 2; bill at front 13; tarsus 1. Weight 1? ozs. The Jack Snipe is generally diffused throughout India, pre- ferring thicker coverts than the Common Snipe, lying very close, and difficult to flush. Now and then considerable numbers will be met with; in other places it is rarely seen. It makes its ap- pearance later than the Common Snipe, and departs earlier, breeding in the Northern parts of Europe and Asia. Various other Snipes are found all over the world. A group from South America is separated by Bonaparte as Xylocola. Gen. RHYNCHAA, Cuvier. Char.— Bill shorter thanin Gallinago, slightly curved downwards at the tip; wings rather short, broad, slightly rounded, beautifully ocellated, 2nd quill longest, 1st and 3rd sub-equal ; tail of 14 or 16 feathers, slightly rounded, short; tarsus long; tibia much denuded. In this genus the females are not only larger than the males but they are also much more richly colored. It contains three very closely allied species. Blyth considers it to have some affini- ties for Hurypyga, a South American bird of rather large size with ocellated wings, usually placed among the Herons. 48. Rhynchea bengalensis, Linnzus. Scolopax, apud Linnazus—Sykes, Cat. 199—JERpon, Cat. 334— BLyTH, Cat. 1612—R. capensis, Linn.—R. picta, GRaY— R. orientalis, HorsFiELD—HARpDWICKE, Ill. Ind. Zool. THE PAINTED SNIPE. Descr.—Upper plumage more or less olivaceous, the feathers finely marked with zig-zag dark lines, and the scapulars and inner wing-coverts with broad bars of black, edged with white; a me- dian pale buff line on the head, and another behind and round the eye; scapulars with a pale buff stripe as in the Snipe; wing- coverts mottled and barred with pale olive and buff; quills oliva- ceous grey, with dark, narrow, cross lines, blackish towards the base on the outer web, and with a series of five or more buff ocelli on the outer web; the inner web with white cross bands t 146 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. alternating with the ocelli, and gradually changing to buff on the tertials; tail olivaceous grey, with four or five rows of buff ocelli on both webs, and tipped with buff; chin whitish; neck, throat, and breast olivaceous brown, with whitish spots or bars; the lower parts from the breast, white, passing on the sides of the breast towards the shoulder, and becoming continuous with the pale scapulary stripe. The female is darker and plainer coloured above; the wing- coverts and tertials dark olive with narrow black cross lines, the outermost tertiaries white, forming a conspicuous white stripe; lores, sides of the face, and whole neck, deep ferruginous chesnut, gradually changing on the breast into dark olive, almost black beneath, this is bordered onthe sides (as in the male) by a pure white line passing up to the scapular region; lower part white, a dark band on the flanks bordering the white ascending line posteriorly. Bill reddish brown; irides deep brown; legs greenish. Length of the female 94 inches; wing 52; tail nearly 2; bill at front 12; tarsus 12; mid-toe 18. The male isa little smaller; length 9; wing 54. The African species is generally considered distinct, and is stated to differ in its narrower quills and some slight variations in the color- ing of the wings, tail, &c.; I can see no such difference however in a Cape specimen in the Museum of the Asiatic Society, and I note that Gurney in a late paper in the ‘Ibis,’ pronounces them to be identical. &. australis, Gould, from Australia, is also very closely allied, but the female (only) possesses a peculiar conformation of _ the trachea, which is wanting in the Indian bird, this organ passing down between the skin and the muscles for the whole length of the body, and making four distinct convolutions before entering the lungs. It has shorter toes also than the Indian species. A species from South America, Lt. semicollaris, V. is very distinct. The Painted Snipe is a permanent resident in some parts of India, breeding in June and July in thick marshy ground, and laying four eggs which are greenish with large brown blotches and very large for the size of the bird. It wanders about a good deal according to the season, and many will be found in paddy fields, in PAINTED SNIPE. 147 the south of India, in October and November, leading the observer to conclude that they are as migratory as the true Snipe. I have found them breeding in Malabar, the Deccan, and Bengal ; after the young are fully grown, they disperse over the country. The Painted Snipe flies heavily and but a short distance, and is difficult to flush a second time in thick grass. The flesh is very inferior to that of the Snipe; and, indeed, is pronounced ‘nasty’ by some late writer. Blyth remarks that when surprised, it has the habit of spreading out its wings and tail, and so forming a sort of radiated disk which shows off its spotted markings, menacing the while with a hissing sound and contracted neck, and then suddenly darting off. The young and the eggs are figured in Jardine’s contributions to Ornithology. It is found throughout India, Ceylon, Burmah, parts of Malayana, and Southern China, and also throughout Africa. . ct it ALY ; ; i Baa” . 2 val hier oy mii Tet fia muh 1) US ee ; - , ties | Lah Ow eh oe be-oi "0 ao Pale i 1 MGMT at 1 tt) Cpa ie ’ 5 tay te ate cpa “ody A Te oth DU on © ert yee ie a Ae it heey oh : wits af Sieh ny vial ie Tar fh ’ tlgo dab } bist ' edie, Bild the ta + (GOR. ty tush) emteni: $1) otha b quae ye ee Certhapevet A Horst al ry ; Age Theiss { Whe S81, i Pig ead) \ f : y ba ane be bap terat | A cL Las Cur rd ; panel ¢ Wey Os ih ee MOET oA il Pray 4} , | uote ADL) eH PROM MO. OF ee x. i t “4 ti s| hil ft) sit dy ces pin ta bey eT" HEY AU ESY bh srolys , : i ‘lonpyseed) , : \ Ls ’ faa. ne <. at Mt a es eis) Pid é \ ,ohil GS ip vy 7 c 5 i i | i eae ‘ Pit en aa, else. (ty a Ae sack ay \ F ie ee | ee , , WILD FOWL OF INDIA. Tribe LAMELLIROSTRES. Bill thick, depressed, broad, covered with a soft skin, the tip alone being horny; the edges in most furnished with nu- merous lamine; wings moderately long, Ist and 2nd quills sub- equal, or 2nd longest. The birds of this tribe form a very natural and extensive group, as well marked and recognizable (with perhaps one exception), as that of the Pigeons. The chief characteristic is the bill, which differs from that of all others in being furnished at the edges with thin horny lamella, more or less numerous and close, which serve as a sieve, allowing the water to pass through, but retaining any particles of food. ‘Ihe bill, moreover, is covered by a soft skin, the tip alone being horny, and this is called the nail or dertrum, and is often coloured differently from the other portion. Geese and Ducks chiefly frequent fresh waters, marshes, lakes, and rivers; a few preferring salt water. They feed mostly on . vegetable matter, but also on worms and insects, &c., a few only taking fish. Most of them lay numerous eggs, white or greenish, and the young follow their parent as soon as hatched. The majority nidificate on the ground, others on trees or even rocks. Many are migratory, and their flight is generally powerful, and in many rapid. They may be said to represent the Rasores in this order in consequence of their easy domestication, numerous eggs, and the excellent food they afford. The sternum is large and wide, but of very thin texture, and has one fissure on each side; the tongue is very large and fleshy, with the edge toothed; the gizzard is large and highly muscular, and the caca generally long, with a long intestinal canal. The trachea of the male is, in many, dilated near the bifurcation into capsules of varied form, and, in some, is elongated and enters 150 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. into a cavity in the keel of the sternum. In many instances the male has a large intromittent organ. They may be divided into the following families :— 1st.—Phenicoptertide, Flamingoes, with uncommonly long legs and long neck. 2nd.—Cygnide, Swans, with lengthened neck but short legs. 3rd.—Anseride, Geese, &c. The legs generally placed more forward than in the next family. Ath.—Anatide, Ducks, with short legs placed far back. 5th.— Mergide, Mergansers, with the bill distinctly toothed at the sides. Fam. PH@NICOPTERID A. Neck and legs of enormous length ; bill suddenly bent down. ‘There is only one genus. Gen. PH@NICOPTERUS, L. Bill high at the base, suddenly bent down, the margin lamellate and dentate; legs very long; tibia bare to a considerable extent ; tarsus scutellate; feet short; wings moderate, 1st and 2nd quills sub-equal, longest ; neck very long. The Flamingoes have the fleshy tongue and anatomical structure of the Ducks; the bill is laminated to allow the superfluous water to pass off, and they appear to feed on various minute animal and vegetable substances which they find in the soft mud of the lakes and salt-water lagoons they frequent, for scooping up which, their peculiar bill appears well adapted; when searching at the bottom, their heads are bent forwards till the deflected portion of the bill is horizontal. The diameter of the gullet in these huge birds is very minute. The Flamingoes were an placed among the Grallatores, in consequence of their very long legs, and are still so classed in many foreign works on Ornithology. Swainson, I believe, was one of the first who perceived their affinities to be with the Anserine, and I cannot understand how any one can ignore the resemblance. The bill is quite that of the Ducks, and its relations with this family are recognised by various races. The Calmucs and Russians FLAMINGO. 151 call the Flamingo the Red Goose, and its Hindustani name also expresses its affinity to the Anserine group. 1. Phcenicopterus roseus, Patas. P. antiquus, TEMMINCK—Btytu, Cat. 1750—SyxeEs, Cat. 181 —JERDON, Cat. 373—also P. minor, apud JERDON, Cat. 3742?— Gouxp, Birds of Europe pl. 287—Bag-hans, H., 2. ¢., Heron- goose—Raj-hans of some—Kan-thunti, Beng.— Pu-konga, Tel., also Samdrapa chilluka, t. e., Sea-parrot—Pu-nari, Tam. THe FLAMINGO. Descr.—Throughout of a rosy white, the rose colour more marked on the head, back, and tail; wing-coverts, (except the primary-coverts, which are white) and the tertiaries fine rosy red ; quills black, the last of the secondaries white ; lower wing-coverts black. Bill rosy, black at the tip; irides pale golden-yellow; legs and feet pale rosy-red. Length 4 feet 4 inches; wing 16}; tail 6; bill 4; tarsus 12; mid.-toe 34. Weight 10 lbs. The female is smaller, and the young birds have the upper plumage, especially the wing-coverts, mixed with brown and dusky spots, and hardly any rosy tinge. I was at one time inclined to Belcee in the existence of another species, which, I was informed, visited India during the cold weather in small flocks, and in my Catalogue I called it P. minor, after Temminck. Mr. Blyth was also of opinion that there was a second species (and Bonaparte named it Ph. Biythit) ; but, in his Catalogue, he gave it as a variety of the other. Tem- minck’s bird, from Africa, is figured by him in Pl. Col. pl. 419, and is stated to be very distinct.* Some specimens in the Museum of the Asiatic Society are distinctly smaller ; the leg shorter, only 9 to 10 inches instead of 12; but the bill is nearly equally large, and the wing only 1 inch or so shorter. Two of these appear in adult plumage ; and there are others quite similar in dimensions, evidently in younger plumage, and one with a slightly rusty coloured head. All these however are probably females, and * Mr. Blyth, however, has eas recently written me that it is very like the small Indian race. 152 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. without more information, I shall consider them to be females of the common species.* The Flamingo is found, here and there, throughout India, is very rare in some parts, and is perhaps chiefly found not far from the sea- coast. It is very abundant near Madras, in the Pulicat lake; also between Madras and Pondicherry, and south towards Tuticoreen ; it is also met with in the Northern Circars, at the great Chilka lake, south of Cuttack, and occasionally near the mouth of the Hooghly and some of the Soonderbun rivers. In Central India and the Deccan, flocks generally visit some of the larger tanks during the cold weather, and they are also now and then met with in Northern India. Adams. states that they are not uncommon onthe Punjab rivers and lakes, during the cold weather. The Flamingo appears to be found throughout the south of Europe, Africa, and great part of Asia. It feeds on minute molluscs, _ small insects and crustacea, worms, &c., which it scoops up by its inverted bill together with the soft mud from the bottom of lakes, salt water lagoons, &c., subsequently rejecting the inorganic matter with the water through the lamine of its bill; I have however generally found some mud in the stomachs of those that I have examined. It also eats confervee, and other soft vegetable matter, and, in confinement, will eat bran mixed with water, boiled rice, &e. It is said to form a large conical nest of mud, or mud and grass, and to sit astride on the top of it. A late writer, however, states that it lays its eggs on any slight elevation in swamps, generally on a narrow path between two ditches, and that many nests are placed together ina line. The eggs are two in number, dull white | and with a very rough chalky surface. Flamingoes do not, that I am aware of, nidificate in this country. | Flamingoes are very wary birds; during the heat of the day they rest in the water, drawn up in long lines, with sentinels on either side which give warning of danger by a trumpet-like call, something * M. Verreaux has characterized a small race from Africa as P. erythreaus. It resembles the present species, but is smaller ; the tarsus only 10} inches; the wing 147, and the head and neck are aurora red. It is probable that this species, if distinct, may occasionally visit Western India, and perhaps be my small Flamingo, Cat, 374. FLAMINGO. 153 like the cry of the wild goose, a cry which is occasionally repeated during flight. When feeding, they are more easily approached. They are excellent eating. I have seen Flamingoes kept alive at Hyderabad in the Deccan. It has been stated that they sleep on one leg, with the neck bent back, and the head under the wing. Nuttall says that they run swiftly, but Ihave never seen them, even when in danger, move at any other pace than a stately, moder- ately rapid walk. ‘They are said to swim well with the port of Swans, but I have never seen them do so. Other species, besides P. minor, ‘T., from Africa, are P. eqgnipaliiatus of South America, and P. erythreus, Verreaux, if distinct from our species. Fam. CYGNIDZ. The Swans are well characterized by their enormously long necks and moderate feet. They have the bill high at the base and of equal breadth throughout, are of very large size, and feed on the seeds and roots of water plants, and also on grass. Their intestines are very long, as are theirceca. They possess 23 cervical vertebre. The trachea has no inflation or labyrinth. The sexes are alike, and they have no seasonal change. The male guards the female during incubation. | In one group the trachea, after making a slight curve to- wards the ridge of the sternum, enters the lungs, and there is usually a fleshy caruncle over the base of the upper man- dible. To this section belongs Cygnus olor, or the Mute Swan, of which C. immutabilis is the wild race. Others of this eroup are C. nigricollis and C. anatoides of South America; and the celebrated black Swan, C. atratus, which is separated as Cehnopis, Wagler. The birds of the next group have the trachea elongated, as in the Cranes, and entering a cavity in the sternal ridge. They have no protuberance on their bill, are all white, with black feet, and are restricted to the Northern Hemisphere. To this group belong the Hooper Swan, Cygnus musicus, and Bewick’s Swan, C. Bewickit, of Europe; and two American species, C. buccinator or the Trum- peter Swan, and C. Americanus. 154 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. The Hooper Swan, Cygnus musicus, is said to have been met with in Nepal, and a head and a foot, stated to be from that country, are in the British Museum; if killed there, however, it could only have been a very accidental visitor, and was more probably brought from the Tibet side of the Hills. The genus Coscoroba, Bonap., founded on Anas coscoroba, Gmelin, (A. chionis, Illger) from South America, is placed by Bonaparte at the end of the Swans. Fam. ANSERIDA. Bill moderate or short, narrower in front than behind, more or less raised at the base; legs rather long, set more forward on the body than in the Ducks; plumage of the sexes differing but slichtly. This family comprises several distinct groups, and is divided into the following sub-families :— 1st.—Anserine, True Geese. 2nd.—Cereopsine, New Holland Geese. 3rd.—Plectropterine, Spurred Geese. Ath.—Nettapodine, Anserine Teal. 5th.— Tadornine, Shieldrakes, &c. Sub-fam. ANSERINA, True Geese. Bill short, high at the base, conical; nail large, convex; laminar teeth more or less exposed, short; nostrils median, large; tarsus thick, lengthened; feet of moderate or rather small size; wings ample, moderately long, 1st and 2nd quills longest ; tail short, of 16 cr 18 feathers; legs nearly central; tibia feathered nearly to the joint ; neck moderately long; trachea simple. Geese, as here characterized, have a large heavy body, witha tolerably long neck and asmall head. The wings are long and pow- erful, and the hind toe is very small. They live in flocks, breeding for the most part in polar regions, and migrating in winter to more genial climates; when flying, they maintain regular long lines, and emit loud clanging calls. They walk well on land in consequence of the central position of their legs. They feed entirely on vege- tables, grazing on grass and young corn, their short stout bill being well suited for biting off the shoots; and they spend the heat of the day on sand-banks in rivers, or in the centre of large lakes. They GREY GOOSE. 155 make large nests of grass, &c., on the ground, in marshy places, and lay several whitish eggs. During incubation, the males of many live apart from the females, and assemble in flocks near the sea-coast. The first down of the nestlings is mottled. Four or five species visit India in the cold weather, and probably others will be identified hereafter. Gen. ANSER, Brisson. Char.—Bill very high at the base, about the length of the head ; the lamellz, tooth-like, very apparent externally ; nostrils a little behind the middle; toes moderately long, claws short and curved; neck moderately long. Of large size and grey plumage, the bill pale, and legs usually reddish. 2. A. cinereus, Meyer. BuyTHa, Cat. 1755—Anas anser, Linn. —A. ferus, GESNER—A. vulgaris, PALLAS—GOULD, Birds of Europe, pl. 847—Hans, H. also Haj—, Bannaia-hans,—Kallauk—Karhans at Bhaugulpore. THE GREY GOOSE. Descr.—Head and neck clove-brown, tinged with grey ; the fore- head whitish; back, scapulars, greater and middle wing-coverts clove-brown, the feathers broadly edged with greyish-white ; lower back and upper tail-coverts bluish-ashy; lesser wing-coverts and base of the primaries bluish-grey ; primaries black, shaded with grey, with the shafts white; secondaries black, edged with white; rump and sides of the upper tail-coverts white; tail brown edged with white, the outermost one almost wholly white ; breast and upper belly greyish-white, undulated with bars of a deeper tint; lower abdomen and under tail-coverts white. Bill fleshy or dull orange-red, the tip whitish; irides deep brown ; legs livid fleshy or tile-red. Length 30 to 32 inches; wing 18; tail 6; bill at front 28; tarsus 3; mid-toe and claw 34; extent 44 feet; weight 9 to 12 lbs. The common wild Goose, or grey lag Goose of England, is a common winter visitant to the North of India, extending its migrations to Ventral India, but rarely seen further South. It is sometimes met with in small parties of from four to twenty ; occa- sionally in vast flocks, which feed on young corn, grass, &c., and 156 WILD FOWL OF INDTA. during the heat of the day, rest on some sand-bank in the large rivers, or in the middle of a tank. This Goose is a wary bid, approached with difficulty when feeding, but may occasionally be stalked when on the bank of a river or tank; I have often killed it from a boat. The flesh is excellent. In the wild state it breeds in Northern Europe and Asia, making a large nest among the rushes, and laying from eight to twelve whitish eoos. It is the origin of the domestic Goose. It is very similar to, and, is occa- sionally confounded with the Bean-goose of England, A segetwm, but that species is smaller, with the bill proportionally smaller and differing in colour. 3. Anser brachyrhynchus, Baron. Buiytu, Cat. 1756,—A. phenicopus, BARTLETT. THE PINK-FOOTED GOOSE. Descr.—Head and upper part of neck brown, the lower part of the neck reddish-ashy; body above brownish cinereous, with white undulations; the longest of the scapulars edged with white ; upper tail-coverts black, a few of the longest white ; lesser and median wing-coverts bluish-ashy, edged with white ; the two first primaries bluish, the others black; tail black; breast and upper abdomen ashy-whitish; lower abdomen and under tail- coverts pure white. Bill much smaller than in the last, fleshy-red or purplish, the base and the nail black; feet pinkish-red. Length 27 inches; wing 17; tail 54; bill at front 12; tarsus 3; middle toe 3. This species is said to occur in the Punjab and Western India, Mr. Blyth stating that he has seen an undoubted drawing of this Goose made in the Punjab. Captain Irby also records it from Oudh. It is an inhabitant of Northern and Central Europe. 4. A. albifrons, Guerin. Anas apud GMELIN—GOULD, Birds of Europe, pl. 289. THe WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. Descr.—Head and neck brownish, shaded with reddish; forehead and part of the cheeks white, surrounded by a dark brown band ; body above dull ashy-brown, with reddish-white margins to the DWARF GOOSE. 157 feathers; upper tail-coverts dark ashy, the longest white ; lesser wing-coverts dull brown, slightly edged rufous; middle coverts ashy-bluish, tipped white; primaries ashy-grey, black at the tip ; secondaries black ; tail ashy, the feathers edged and broadly tipped with white; plumage beneath brownish on the breast and flanks, passing into whitish grey with spots and wide cross bands of black on the lower part of the breast, the upper abdomen and flanks ; lower abdomen and under tail-coverts pure white. Bill purplish-red, orange-yellow round the nostrils, on the middle of the upper mandible and the edges of the lower mandible ; tip whitish ; irides deep brown; legs orange, the nails white. Length 27 inches; wing 17; bill at front 13; tarsus 3 ; mid-toe 22. The white-fronted Goose has, within our territories, only been observed hitherto in the Punjab, Adams stating that it is a winter visitant to the lakes and rivers of that province. It is found throughout Europe, Northern Asia, and North America, It is stated to frequent marshes and rarely to visit corn-fields. 5. Anser erythropus, Livy. Newton, Ibis, 2, p. 406—A. minutus, Naumann—A. medius, TEMMINCK—BrEs, Birds of Europe, pl. THe Dwarr GOOSE. Descr.—Top of head, forehead, throat, front of cheeks, and the under and upper tail-coverts pure white; the rest of the head, neck, and crop grey, with those parts nearest the white front of the head darker ; scapulars and back dark brown grey, with trans- verse lighter bands; upper wing-coverts blue-grey ; lower, the same colour as the back, edged with white ; primaries, of the same blue- grey as the upper coverts; secondaries black; tail vrey, margined with white at the tip, and white at the base ; abdomen black, bordered with white, and the flanks the same dark grey-brown as the back, each feather edged with lighter and separated from the edge of the wing, when folded, by a white streak. Bill orange* ; feet and legs red. Length 22 inches; wing 15; tail 44 ; weight 4 Ibs. * Mr. Bree, whose description of this Goose I have copied, in his specific character gives the beak black, but in the description orange. Probably the nail only is black. 158 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. Mr. Newton first showed that this little Goose was the true erythropus of Linnzus, and that this name had been improperly applied to the last species. Captain Irby mentions having observed this Goose in Oudh. It is chiefly an inhabitant of Northern Europe, is occasionally taken in Central Europe, and is said not to be uncommon in Greece. It also inhabits Northern and Central Asia. The next species has been sometimes placed under Bernicla, Stephens, and latterly has been separated as Eulabeta by Reichen- bach. It appears to be intermediate between the Bernacle Geese and the true Geese, and I shall not give it distinct generic rank. The teeth of the mandible are distinctly visible at the base, which they are not in true Bernicla; the bill is larger and the feet are reddish. 6. Anser indicus, Gmexin. BLYTH, Cat. 1757—JeRDoN, Cat. 375—Gouup, Cent. Him. Birds, pl. 80. THE BARRED-HEADED GOOSE. Descr.—Head white, with two blackish bars on the occiput and nape; back of neck hair-brown, sides of neck white ; upper plumage very pale ashy, the feathers edged with whitish and tinged with pale reddish-brown; lower back and rump pure pale ashy- grey, sides of the ramp and upper tail-coverts whitish ; tail grey, white tipped ; wing-coverts pure ashy; quills grey, dusky towards the tip, and gradually becoming darker on the secondaries ; tertials brownish-grey ; beneath, the chin and throat white; neck brownish-ashy, passing gradually into cinereous on the breast, whitish on the upper abdomen and the lower abdomen; vent and under tail-coverts white; flanks cinnamon-brown with pale edgings. Bill yellow; irides brown; legs orange. Length 27 inches; wing 17; tail 6; bill at front 2; tarsus 22; mid-toe 22; weight 7 to 8 Ibs. | This Goose appears to be peculiar to India, and probably the adjacent countries north of the Himalayas, where it breeds, as it is not recorded by Pallas as a bird of Northern or Central Asia. It is chiefly a winter visitant to India, arriving in Northern India towards the end of October or beginning of November, and * BARRED-HEADED GOOSE. 159 leaving in March. It is occasionally met with in immense flocks of many hundreds, usually in smaller parties. It grazes on the river banks and fieids of corn, chenna, &c., retiring about 10 or 11 a. M. to some tank or river, where it reposes during the greater part of the day, returning to the fields in the afternoon. A writer in the Bengal Sporting Magazine states that this Goose is found in immense abundance both in Bundlekund and in the country be- tween Agra and Gwalior; but that the larger kind (A. cinereus) is not met with in the latter locality. I once saw a couple of these Geese in the extreme south of India in August, in a small se- questered tank. This pair may have been breeding there, but perhaps they were wounded or sickly birds. This Goose probably breeds in the large lakes beyond the Himalayas, where swarms of water-birds have been observed by various travellers in summer. It is excellent eating, but perhaps in this respect inferior to the Grey Goose. There are several other wild Geese found in the Northern Hemis- phere, the distinctions between some of which are rather obscure. Among them are A. segetum, the Bean-goose, which, besides being smaller than cinereus, has the nail of the bill black. The Bernacle Geese have the bill smaller than the true Geese, and the lamelle are short and not exposed. The legs are generally black. As pre- viously stated, these are by some placed in a distinct genus, Bernicla, Stephens. The Barnacle Goose, B. leucopsis, is smaller than the wild Goose, and is remarkable for the fable which was believed in by our ancestors, that it took its origin from the shell barnacles (Lepas) ; the same tradition was connected with the Brent Goose, B. brenta. Another Asiatic species is A. rujicollis, Pallas. ‘The Snow Goose, A. hyperboreus, has the teeth very prominent, and has been separat- ed as Chen. It is white with black primaries. A second species of this group is A. cerulescens, L., formerly considered the young of hyperboreus. It has been killed in Britain. A. cygnoides, L., the Chinese or knobbed Goose, was considered by Cuvier to belong to the Swans, but is strictly a Goose with only 16 cervical vertebre.* It is domesticated in China, and breeds very readily with the Goose in the interior of the Himalayas. Couldit have been this species? or A. ruficollis ? 160 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. common Goose. Blyth considers the common domestic Goose of India to be a hybrid between this and A..cinereus. A. canadensis, L., a large Goose with a long black neck, was also considered to belong to the Swans by Cuvier. It is now classed among the Bernacle Geese. A handsome group of Geese, typified by A. picta, Pallas, and A. magellanica, Gml., is found in the icy regions, both Arctic and Antarctic, and has been named Chloephaga by Eyton ; A. jubata, Lath., from Australia, has been separated as Chlamy- dochen. The former of these, however, have tracheal labyrinths, and, if they do not belong to the Yadornine, unite those birds to the Geese. The sub-family Cereopsine compvises only one genus and one species, Cereopsis Nove Hollandie, which has a small bill extend- ing back on the forehead, long legs bare above the joint, and a tracheal labyrinth. It seldom enters water. This curious Goose appears to have some affinities with both the Aasores and Grallatores. Sub-fam. PLECTROPTERINA, Spurred Geese. Wings generally with one or more spurs on the shoulder. Bill, in most, furnished with a boss or protuberance at the base. Legs in general long. Plumage glossed black and white. Sexes alike, or nearly so. | The Spur-winged Geese form a small group typified by Anas gambensis, L., of Africa, of which the Muscovy Duck, A. moschata, is an aberrant form, having unusually short legs. The male is said to guard the nest during incubation. There is only one species in India. Gen. SARKIDIORNIS, Eyton. Syn. Plectropterus, Leach (partly). Char.—Bill lengthened, of nearly equal width throughout; that of the males usually furnished with a naked, compressed, fleshy protuberance on the culmen; wings with one or more tubercles or blunt spurs at the shoulder; 1st and 2nd primaries sub-equal and longest; legs lenethened; feet large; tarsus with sub-quadrate scales. Of large size. Plumage glossy black above. Sexes nearly alike in colour, but the males much larger than the females. ee —— BLACK-BACKED GOOSE. L61 The Spur-winged Geese are found in the hot regions of Africa and India, where they are permanent residents. 7. Sarkidiornis melanonotus, Pennanv. Anser apud Pennant, Ind. Zool., pl. 11—Buyrn, Cat. 1763— SYKkeES, Cat. 213—JERDON Cat. 379—Pl. Enl. 937—Nwkta, H. and Mahr.—Jutu chilluwa, Tel—Comb-duck of Sportsmen in - Madras and Bombay. THe BLACK-BACKED GOOSE. Descr.—UHead and neck white, spotted with glossy black, the top of the head and back of the neck mostly black; interscapulars and scapulars, black glossed with purple; back ashy-grey, becoming dusky on the rump; the upper tail-coverts clossy green ; wing-coverts glossed green; quills black ; tail black ; all the lower parts pure white; bill and protuberance black ; irides dark brown; legs greenish plumbeous. Male—Length 30 to 34 inches ; wing 16; tail 6 ; bill at front 21; height of protuberance 2; tarsus nearly 3; mid-toe and claw 31.., Weight 6 lbs. The female is much smaller, less brightly colored, more spotted on the neck, and she wants the fleshy boss at the base of the bill. Leneth about 26 inches; wing 12 to 14. This Goose is very common in Central and Western India, less so in the extreme south, and is very rare in Lower Bengal. It is generally seen in small parties from four to ten, but occasionally in flocks of above a hundred: it chiefly frequents grassy tanks, and is not unfrequently seen in paddy fields. During the rains, it wanders about a good deal, and may often be seen feeding in very small tanks, or even in temporary pools of water. It breeds in this country in July or August, in grass by the sides of tanks, laying six to eight whitish eggs, It is not a. particularly wary bird, and may generally be approached tolerably closely. Its flight is not very rapid. This Goose is not held in very high esteem for the table, but at some seasons is most excellent, and the young birds are especially A bj 162 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. delicate. It is found in Ceylon and Burmah, apparently not extending into Malayana. Other species of this genus are S. africana, Eyton, and S. regia, Mol., from South America, (united to the Indian species in Gray’s Genera of Birds). Plectropterus gambensis, L., is the most typical member of the group and has the longest legs. Anseranos melanoleuca, (Latham) from Australia, is a very remarkable type. The hind toe is long and nearly on the same plane as the anterior toes, and the feet are only webbed at the base; were it not for its completely Duck-bill, it could not be classed here. The Musk-duck already alluded to, Catrina moschata, (placed by Gray among the true Ducks,) is originally from South America ; it breeds freely with*the common Duck, but the offspring are not fertile. Sub-fam. Nerrarpopina&. Bonap. Of small size; bill small, hich at the base. These little ducks or rather geese, have much the colouring of the last group, of which they may be said to be miniatures, but the bill is still shorter and higher at the base, more anserine in its character, and Gray, indeed, places them among the Anserine. Their peculiar aspect, however, and habits demand a separation. Representatives of the group occur in Africa, India, and Australia. Gen. Nerrapus, Brandt. Syn. Anserella, Swainson—Microcygna, Gray. Char.—Bill small, high at the base, gradually narrowing in front, the lamelle short, distant, concealed; nostrils small near the base ; wings rather short; tail short, rounded, of twelve feathers; tarsus short ; feet long, hind toe short claws short and curved. 8. Nettapus coromandelianus, GME tin. Anas apud GMELIN—Buytu, Cat. 1766—Syxus, Cat. 214— JERDON, Cat. 378. Bernicla girra, Gray—Dendroc. af_inis, JERDON, Cat. 378 bis., winter dress—Girja and girri, H. and Mahr.— Ghangerél and Gangania Beng.—Buliya hans at Dacca— ‘Cotton Teal’ of many Europeans. WHITE-BODIED GOOSE-TEAL. 163 Tne WHITE-BODIED GOOSE-TEAL. Descr.—Top of the head black ; back, scapulars and wings richly glossed with purple and green, the purple prevailing on the back and scapulars, the wing-coverts and base of the quills green; rump blackish in the middle, white at the sides; upper tail- coverts cinereous brown with pale mottlings ; tail blackish brown; primary quills with a large white patch tipped with black on their terminal half, the white gradually diminishing in extent; the secondaries only tipped with white; tertials pure black, glossed green externally, purplish within; face, back of head, and whole neck and under parts pure white, with a black collar round the. lower part of the neck; flanks white with fine zig-zag brown lines; vent and under tail-coverts mottled dusky and white. Bill black ; irides crimson; legs greenish ochry-yellow tinged with black at the breeding season. Length 13 to 14 inches; wing 64; tail 22; bill at front 1; tarsus 1; mid-toe 14. Weight 9 to 10 ounces. The female is duller and more brown, above faintly glossed, the primaries want the white patch, the sides of the rump and upper tail-coverts are pale brown; the top of the head is dusky, and there is a dark stripe through the eyes; the neck is mottled with dusky. lines; the under parts are dirty white, the flanks pale brown, and under tail-coverts whitish. This pretty little Goslet (as it may be named) is found over the whole of India, Ceylon, Burmah, and Malayana, in great abundance in many parts, more rarely in the North-western. Provinces. It frequents weedy and grassy tanks in moderate or rather large flocks, flies with great rapidity, uttering a peculiar cackling call, and is, when undisturbed, very familiar and unwary. It breeds generally in holes in old trees, often at some distance from water, occasionally in ruined houses, temples, old chimneys, and the like, laying eight or ten (sometimes, it 1s stated, as many as fifteen, ) small white eggs. The young are clad with copious black down, and are, as a writer inthe Indian Sporting Review observes, liter- ally turned out of the nest by the parent as soon as they are hatched, and led to the neighbouring water. The same writer states, that the ducks alone attend to the duties of incubation, the drakes 164 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. collecting together in small flocks. I doubt if this is always the case, as I have on more than one occasion seen a pair fly off a tree in which they had a nest. This bird is not in general held in high estimation for the table; still at times it is excellent, and one writer says ‘delicious. The peculiar shuffling gait of these ducks when on land has been noticed by Mr. Blyth, who states ‘ that after walking afew steps they always squat.’ In the wild state they probably never alight on the land. A very closely allied species is WV. albipennis, Gould, from Aus- tralia, formerly considered identical; and there is another still more beautiful species from the same country, NV. pulchellus, Gould. The Australian species are described by Gould as nest- ling on the ground. Another species is found in Madagascar, N. auritus, considered by Gray as the type of Nettapus (as res- tricted), the Indian species being classed under Anserel/a, Swainson. Sub-fam. TADORNINA. Bill more or less raised at the base, and flattened towards the tip. Plumage more or less rufous. This group comprises the Shieldrakes and Whistling-teal of hot countries, which, though not separated by Gray from the true Ducks, form avery distinct division. They have the bill rather large, and stand high on their legs, which are not set far back. They may be said to be* intermediate between Geese and Ducks. Some have a speculum or wing-spot like the Ducks, and an inflated vesicle on the trachea; but the voice is rather that of a Goose than a Duck; the plumage is only moulted once a year ; there is no seasonal change, and there is but little difference between the plumage of the sexes. They are chiefly vegetable feeders, some indeed grazing like Geese, and they have very long and slender intestines. ‘They are for the most part inhabitants of warm climates and of the Southern Hemisphere. Gen. DENDROCYGNA, Swainson. Char.—Bill rather large, lengthened, of uniform width, slightly elevated at the base ; wings short, broad, rounded, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th primaries sub-equal and longest; secondaries long; tarsus long and stout; feet large, hind toe rather long. WHISTLING-TEAL. 165 The Whistling-ducks are found in the warmer regions of both Continents. They build either on the ground or on trees. Some have the toes not fully webbed. ‘They are classed by many apart from the Shieldrakes, and in their structure somewhat re- semble the Plectroptering, but their tints are those of the Shiel- drakes, though they want the wing-spot. Gray places them in Anatine. Two species occur in India. 9. Dendrocygna awsuree, SYKES. Mareca apud Syxss, Cat. 220—JxERDon, Cat. 376—D. arcuata, Horsr., apud Biya, Cat. 1762, and others—A. caryophyllacea, apud SUNDEVALL--Silli, H.—Saral, Beng.—Harrili hans in Kast Beneal— Yerra chilluwa, Tel. THE WHISTLING-TEAL. Descr.—WUead and occiput dull wood-brown; face, ears, and neck, pale whity-brown, becoming darker on the back of the neck and upper back, and faintly edged with pale rusty; back and scapulars dusky black, broadly edged with rusty-brown; rump glossy black ; upper tail-coverts chesnut; tail brown with slightly paler edges; lesser and median wing-coverts fine rich marone- red; greater coverts and all the quills dusky black; beneath, the chin and throat albescent; the neck whity-brown, passing into brown, yellowish on the lower neck, and gradually merging into the deep ferruginous or light chesnut of the whole of the lower surface; vent and under tail-coverts albescent. Bill blackish; irides brown; orbits bright yellow; lees and feet dark plumbeous. Length about 18 inches; extent 27; wing 8; tail 2; bill at front 14; tarsus 12; mid-toe 23. This species is sometimes confounded with D. javanica, Horsf., (arcuata, Cuvier), but appears to differ in wanting the lunules on the neck and breast, in the upper tail-coverts being marone, and in its somewhat smaller size. It may be the variety indicated by Horsfield under the name of Meliwis batu. This Whistling-teal is generally spread throughout India and Burmah, and is a permanent resident. It associates, in the cold weather, in numerous flocks, frequenting by preference wooded 166 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. tanks or weedy jheels. The flight is slow and rather heavy, and during flight it frequently utters the peculiar sibilant, whistling call from which it derives its popular name. It generally, perhaps, breeds in the drier patches of grass on the ground, often at a considerable distance from water, carefully concealing its nest by intertwining some blades of grass over it. Occasionally, however, it builds its nest in hollows of trees, and not unfrequently in nests made of sticks, and that have, in some cases at all events, been used by Cormorants or small Herons. The eggs are white, generally six or eight in number. Gould figures one of the Australian species under the name of D. arcuata, Cuv., the Javanese bird, but it appears to me to be quite distinct. 10. Dendrocygna major, JERDoN. J ERDON, Cat. 377—BLytTH, Cat. 1761—JxERpDON, Ill. Ind. Orn., pl. 23—D. vagans, Eyron, Mss—figured under that name in FRASER, Zool. typ. : THe LARGE WHISTLING-TEAL. Descr.—Head and neck chesnut, darker on the top of the head, whence a dark line extends down the back of the neck; chin, throat, and foreneck pale; in the centre of the neck there is a broad patch of small, whitish, somewhat hackled feathers ; upper part of the back and scapulars deep brown, the feathers edged with chesnut; lower part of the back black; lesser wing-coverts dark marone, the other wing-coverts, wings, and tail, dusky black ; lower plumage chesnut ; under tail-coverts (and a few of the upper tail-coverts also) yellowish white; the feathers of the flanks much lengthened, chesnut on one side, and yellowish-white on the other. Bill plumbeous ; irides brown; orbits pale livid; legs and feet dark plumbeous. Length 21 inches; wing 93; tail 23; tarsus 23; mid-toe 34; bill at front nearly 2. This species of Whistling-teal appears to be generally spread throughout India, but is somewhat rare in most parts of the country: it is most common in the western districts. I found it tolerably abundant in the Deccan at Jalnah, indeed as commonas the iesser RUDDY SHIELDRAKE. 167 kind, but not breeding in that part of the country. Mr. Blyth has frequently obtained it from the Calcutta market, and I procured it oceasionally in the Carnatic. I have no authentic record of its occurrence out of India, but it is probable enough that it occurs in Burmah, and may, perhaps, be the variety indicated by Horsfield as Meliwis hembung. There are species of this genus in Africa and South America, one indeed, D. viduata, is said to occur both in Africa and America ; also in Australia, as well as in some of the Malayan islands, and one species from Australia, has been separated as Leptotarsis Eytont, Gould. The birds of the next group have, lke the Ducks, a brilliantly colored speculum onthe wing. They stand high on their legs, and the down of the young is said to be pied. Gen. CAsARCA, Bonap. Char.—Bill moderate, slightly raised at the base, depressed anteriorly, of uniform width, nail large; lamine slender, very ap- parent ; wings moderately long, when closed reaching to the end of the tail, which is short and slightly rounded, of fourteen or sixteen feathers ; tarsus moderate, stout; toes long ; hind toe lobed. These are Shieldrakes with some of the habits of Geese, grazing in young cornfields. They nestle in deserted holes, also amone rocks and on cliffs, often far removed from water. 11. Casarca rutila, Patras. Anas apud PALLAs—BuytTH, Cat. 1768—JERDoN, Cat. 386— Sykes, Cat. 215—Goutp, Birds of Europe, pl. 358—A. rubra, GmELIN—Surkhab, H. of Falconers—Chakwa, Chakwi, H.— Chakra-baka, Sanse.—Bapana chilluwa, Tel.—‘ Braminy Duck’ of Europeans in India. THE RupDpY SHIELDRAKE. Descr.—Male, forehead and cheeks pale ochreous-yellow or ferruginous ; the region of the eyes, crown, and nape, greyish- white; the rest of the neck ochreous-yellow, tinged with orange, surrounded by a glossy black collar nearly half an inch wide; the back and scapulars orange fulvous, some of the feathers edved 168 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. paler; upper tail-coverts glossy green-black ; lesser and middle wing-coverts white; greater coverts green, glossed with purple; primaries black ; secondaries glossy green ; tertials bright fulvous ; chin pale yellowish ; breast and lower parts orange fulvous, deepest on the breast. Bill black ; irides dark brown; legs black. Length 24 to 25 inches; extent 44; wing 16; tail 7; bill at front 12; tarsus 22; mid-toe 24; weight 4 Ibs. The female is smaller, wants the black collar, and is more white about the forehead, chin, and face. The Ruddy Shieldrake or Braminy Duck, as it is called in India, is a well known winter visitant to all parts of the country. It is generally seen, even at this season, in pairs or small parties, frequenting alike rivers, brooks, jheels, and lakes. It walks well on the ground and grazes in the young cornfields just like Geese; it also picks up seeds of grass, grain, &c. A writer in the Indian Sporting Review for 1854 states, that ‘it is often found devouring carrion on the banks of rivers, and is frequently seen banqueting in company with Vultures, and associating with such other villainous companions.” This must be a very rare ocurrence; I have constantly, when on the Ganges and other large rivers, been on the watch to verify this observation, but as yet have never seen anything approaching to such a habit, and I have moreover questioned many sportsmen on the subject with a like result. Towards the close of the cold weather, the Braminy Ducks assemble in numbers, and on the Chilka lake I have seen thousands in one flock in April. The call is peculiar and Goose-like, (like a clarionet, says Pallas) sounding something like d-oung, andhence the name of Aangir, which, according to Pallas, is given to this bird among the Mongols, by whom it is held sacred. It is found over the greater part of Central Europe, being occa- sionally even killed in Britain; also in Northern Africa, and great part of Asia, not extending however far north. It breeds across the Himalayas on rocks near lakes, as observed by Hooker and Adams respectively in Sikim and Ladakh ; also in holes of walls, and occasionally in deserted holes in the ground. Salvin found it breeding on almost inaccessible cliffs in Northern Africa far from WHITE-WINGED SHIELDRAKE. 169 water, along with Kites and Ravens, and he states that he procured four white eggs; other observers say that it lays from eight to ten. It has bred in the Zoological gardens, and reared four young ones. The Hindoos have a legend that two lovers for some indiscretion were transformed into Braminy Ducks, that they are condemned to pass the night apart from each other on opposite banks of the river and that all night long each, in its turn, asks its mate if it shall come across, but the question is always met by a negative—“Chakwa, shall I come? No, Chakwi.” ‘ Chakwi, shall I come? No, Chakwa.” Pallas states that it does not extend beyond 50° N. L., and that it usually nestles in Marmot’s holes, also in rocks, and occasionally even in hollow trees. It is held sacred by the Mon- gols and Calmucs. 12. Casarca leucoptera, Brytu. JARDINE, Contrib. Orn. pl. THE WHITE-WINGED SHIELDRAKE. Descr.—Head and neck mottled black and white, perhaps pure white in the adult; hind neck glossy black; rest of the upper plumage, including the tail, blackish brown; shoulders and wing- coverts pure white; greater coverts black; primaries dusky; se- condaries slaty ; tertials lengthened and wide, dusky, the outer- most with a white border, showing as a white line on the wing; neck and breast glossy black; rest of the lower plumage dusky castaneous, dark brown on the flanks and under tail-coverts. Bill and legs black. Length 28 inches; wing 15; tail 6; bill at front 3; tarsus 24; mid-toe 33. This fine Duck has hitherto been only procured in Burmah, but I have received information of a so-called ‘ Black Goose’ occurring in Dacca and other parts of Eastern Bengal, which, from the des- cription, can be no other bird, and I have hence introduced it among the Birds of India, and hope this season to procure speci- mens. Other species of this genus are C. cana, Gmelin; C. tador- noides, Jardine; and C. variegata, Gmelin, (C. castanea, Eyton). The two former from Africa; the last from South America. UY) 170 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. Gen. Taporna, Leach. Char.—Bill short, high, and gibbous at the base, concave in the middle; the tip flattened and turning upwards, of nearly uniform breadth; the nail abruptly hooked; marginal lamelle not pro- jecting; wing tuberculated; tarsus moderate; feet rather short; tail of sixteen feathers. The Shieldrakes are a well marked group, distinguished by the peculiar form of their bill. Their legs are set well forward, enab- ling them to walk with ease. The sexes are nearly alike. They breed in clefts of rocks or holes in the ground. Pallas remarks that they do not extend far North, and that they are very partial to salt lakes, feeding much on small crustacea. 13. Tadorna vulpanser, Friemrine. Buyty, Cat. 1769—Gou.tp, Birds of Europe, pl. 357—A. tadorna, Linn.—Tad. Belloni, StrrepHENS—Shah murghabi and Niraji, in Sindh. THE SHIELDRAKE. Descr.—Male, head and upper part of neck deep blackish-green, with glossy reflections ; lower part of the neck, back, wing-coverts, rump, and base of the tail white, the latter black-tipped; scapu- lars black ; primaries black ; greater-coverts, forming the speculum, rich bronzed green, three or four of the secondaries next the back, with their outer webs rich orange-brown ; lower plumage white; a broad band of ferruginous brown across the breast, the ends passing upwards and uniting between the shoulders; a mesial line on the abdomen, widening at the vent, black; under tail- coverts pale reddish-brown. Bill blood-red; irides brown; legs fleshy-red inclining to crimson. Length 23 inches; wing 13; tail 5; bill at front 24; tarsus 2; mid-toe 2; weight about 3 Ibs. The female has the colors somewhat more dull, and wants the pectoral band. The Shieldrake is not common in any part of India, and is un- known.in the South. It has been occasionally procured in the SHIELDRAKRE. livg Calcutta Bazar by Mr. Blyth, is sometimes met with in the N. W. Provinces, in Sindh, and at the foot of the Himalayas, and has been observed by Mr. Simson, B. C. s., in Eastern Bengal. It occurs throughout Europe, the greater part of Asia, and North- ern Africa, and breeds in deserted rabbit holes. The male at the breeding season acquires a large fleshy boss at the base of the upper mandible. The trachea is furnished with a labyrinth. The voice is goose-like. Two other species of Tadorna are recorded, both from Australia, T. radjah, Garnot, and T. nevosa, Gould. The former of these, which is said to be somewhat intermediate between Tadorna and Casarca, has been made the type of Radja by Reichenbach, but Gray in his List of Genera applies that name to Leptotarsis of Gould, one of the Whistling-ducks. The other species has been made the type of Stzctonetta by the same Systematist. The Egyptian Goose, A. egyptiaca, Gmelin, of which the genus Chenalopex, Swainson is formed, appears to belong to this group, rather than to the Plectropterine, to which it is referred by Gray. It has a small spur on the bend of the wing, its colouring is gay, and it has a single inflated labyrinth in the trachea. It was revered by the ancient Egyptians on account of the affection it displayed towards its young. Other species are recorded by Gray ; some from America. Fam. ANATIDZ. Bill broader at the base than hich, shallow, depressed, of nearly equal width throughout, or wider at the tip; both mandibles with numerous transverse lamelle; nostrils sub-basal or nearly median ; tarsus moderately short, set far back on the body. The Ducks differ from the last family by possessing a longer, shallower bill and shorter tarsus, and having the lamelle of the bill more highly developed. The sexes usually differ much in colour: the males of many assume the female plumage for a short period immediately after the breeding season, resuming their proper colouring at the autumn moult. They feed partly on vegetable matter and partly on minute worms, larve, &. ‘They have, for the most 172 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. part, a considerable dilatation of the esophagus, and very long coeca. The trachea is almost always inflated at its bifurcation into cartilaginous labyrinths, of which the left is generally the larger. They are divisible into two distinct groups or sub-families. 1. Anatine, True Ducks with the hind toe small and not webbed. 2. Fuliguline, Pochards or Sea Ducks, with the hind toe larger and bordered with a distinct web. To these some add the Erismaturine, by others considered a group of the Fuliguline. Sub-fam. ANATINA. Hind toe not bordered by a membrane; head of moderate size ; neck long and more or less slender; bill usually of even width throughout, or wider at the tip, not raised at the base; lamellz numerous, fine; legs set a little more forward than in the next group, and they can walk tolerably well. The wings of most are long, and they fly rapidly. The first genus has the bill much dilated at the tip. Gen. Spatuua, Boie. Syn.—Rhynchaspis, Leach—Clypeata, Lesson. Char.—Bill long, the upper mandible wide, flattened in front of the nostrils and much dilated at the tip, or spatulate; the nail small; lamellz very fine, like ciliz, and projecting; tail slightly cuneate, of fourteen feathers ; tarsus short. Cosmopolite. In this genus, the lamelle are developed to their greatest extent, and it is considered by some to be the type of the group. 14. Spatula clypeata, Livy. Anas apud Linn£zus—BxytTH, Cat. 1770—JERnon, Cat. 382— SYKEs, Cat. 217—GouLD, Birds of Europe, pl. 360—Tidari, H. of some—Alipat in Sindh. THE SHOVELLER. Descr.—Male, head and upper part of the neck deep brown, with glossy green reflections; back dark umber-brown; scapulars SHOVELLER. 173 white; rump and upper tail-coverts brown, glossed with blackish- ereen, the sides of the rump white; tail brown, the feathers edged with white, and the outer one wholly white; lesser wing- coverts pale greyish-blue; median tipped with white; greater coverts, forming the speculum, brilliant green; primaries umber- brown; tertials rich purplish-black ; lower neck and breast white ; abdomen brownish-red; lower tail-coverts brown, glossed with blackish-green. Bill brownish-black; irides yellow; legs orange. Length 20 inches; wing 10; tail 84; bill 22; tarsus 14; mid-toe 14. The female has the head pale reddish-brown with fine dusky streaks; the rest of the upper parts dark brown, the feathers edged with reddish white; lesser wing-coverts slightly tinged with pale blue; speculum not so bright as in the male; under parts reddish, with large brown spots. | Towards the end of summer, the male bird puts on a peculiar livery, something like that of the female, but with the head black. The Shoveller is found throughout India in the cold weather in small parties, often mixed with Gadwalls and other species ; feeding near the edges of tanks in shallow water among weeds, chiefly on minute worms and larve, which it sifts from the mud. It is often late in leaving this country. It is found over both Continents, breeding, in temperate as well as in northern regions, in marshes, and laying ten to twelve oil-green eggs. The intestines of this Duck are very long, from 9 to 10 feet. Other species of Shoveller are found in Africa, South America, and Australia; and Malacorhynchus membranaceus (Latham) is a somewhat allied form, from New Holland, with the edge of the bill prolonged on each side into a hanging membranous flap. Gen. Anas, Linn. (as restricted), Char.—Bill of moderate length, depressed throughout, not so deep at the base as wide, nearly of uniform width; the lamelle short, projecting very slightly; the tip rounded ; nostrils near the. base; tail short, of sixteen feathers; the middle tail feathers of some more or less curled upwards. ’ 174 | WILD FOWL OF INDTA. There are two or three types of coloration in this genus, even as restricted. ‘The first in our list has the most variegated and richest plumage, is of extensive geographical distribution, and makes long migrations. 15. Anas boschas, Liny.avs. Biytu Cat. 1771—Goutp, Birds of Europe, pl. 361—Mirojt, Sindh.—Mil. sir, H. THE MALLARD. Deser.—Male, head and upper half of neck deep emerald-green_ approaching to black on the cheeks and forehead; a white collar round the neck ; hind neck brown, with fine transverse grey lines; mantle chesnut-brown, with pale margins to the feathers; rump and upper tail-coverts blackish-green, the sides of the rump grey- ish white, with fine transverse undulating lines of clove-brown; scapulars greyish-white, with cross wavy brown marks, and some of the outer ones chesnut, with darker cross lines; wing-coverts and primaries brown; speculum deep prussian-blue, with purple and green reflections, bounded on each side by a double border, the inner one velvet-black, the outer white; tail greyish-brown, all the feathers bordered with white; the four central feathers curled upwards ; lower neck and breast dark chesnut; abdomen and flanks greyish-white, with transverse undulating lines of brown; under tail-coverts blackish-green. Bill pale greenish-yellow ; irides red or hazel brown; legs orange. Length 24 inches; wing 11}; extent 36 ; tail 34; bill 24; tarsus 12; middle toe 24. The female is smaller, and has all the upper plumage brown, of different shades, the feathers edged with pale reddish-brown ; the head and neck creamy-white or yellowish with dusky streaks ; speculum much as in the male; throat buff or whitish; breast and under parts yellowish-brown, obscurely spotted and streaked with darker brown; the central tail feathers not turned "p: Bill greenish-grey. The Mallard is apparently not very rare in the North of India, especially in the North-west, but I have never seen it South of the SPOTTED-BILLED DUCK, 175 Nerbudda, and have only shot it myself near Mhow, and lately in Kumaon. It has not yet occurred in Bengal. It appears to remain all the year in Cashmere, and to breed in that country, as Theobald found the eggs there in May. It is found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, breeding in temperate regions. It is one of the best Ducks for the table, and, as is well known, is the origin of our domestic Duck. The birds of the next group have a plain and spotted character of plumage, and appear peculiar to tropical and southern regions. 16. Anas peecilorhyncha, Pennant. BuytTH, Cat. 1773—JERDOoN, Cat. 387—Syxus, Cat. 218— Harpwickg, Ill. Ind. Zool., pl—Garm-pat, H. of some Falconers —Bata of some. THE SPOTTED-BILLED Duck. Descr.—Top of the head and nape dark sepia brown, with some pale brown edgings; a dark brown line from the upper mandible through the eye ending in a point; supercilium, whole face, and neck dingy fulvous with small brown streaks, enlarging on the lower neck ; upper plumage, including the lesser and median wing- coverts and scapulars, hair-brown; greater coverts white, edged with deep black; primaries brown; secondaries, forming a con- spicuous speculum, glossy green, with a black tip, narrowly edged with white on the innermost feathers; tertiaries white externally, (forming a continuous line with the white coverts), hair-brown internally ; lower back and rump black ; tail deep brown; beneath, from the breast pale earthy or dingy white, with numerous brown spots, increasing in size on the abdomen and flanks; vent and under tail-coverts deep blackish-brown. Bill blackish with a red spot at the base, and the tip yellow; irides brown; legs and feet orange-yellow. Length 24 to 25 inches; wing 12; tail 4; bill at front 24; tarsus 2; mid-toe 23. Sexes alike, This fine Duck is almost peculiar to India, including Ceylon, and is found throughout the whole country of which it is a permanent resident; it is also found in Burmah. It frequents by preference, 176 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. but not exclusively, well wooded districts, sequestered tanks, and marshy ground, and in the cold season spreads sparingly over the barest districts where tanks abound. It is usually met with in small parties, rarely more than from eight to twenty, and generally fewer. I have seen it most abundant in Western Mysore and in Eastern Bengal. It nidificates on the ground, among long grass, laying eight or ten greenish-white eggs. ‘The voice is very like that of the wild Duck, but is not often repeated. Its flight is rather slow and heavy. It is one of the very best Ducks for the table, in my opinion rivalling the Mallard, Gadwall, and Red-crested Pochard. Other allied species are A. flavirostris, A. Smith, and A. guttata, Licht., from Africa; and there are others from the Oceanic region. A closely allied species from North Africa was considered the same by Riippell, but Blyth distinguished it, naming it A. Riippellir. The next species has been separated as Lhodonessa by Reich- enbach. 17. Anas caryophyllacea, Laruam. BuiyTH, Cat. 1774—JERDON, Cat. 368—JExpoy, III. Ind. Orn., pl. 34—Gray Illd. Genera of Birds, pl.—Lal-stra, H. of some. THE PINK-HEADED DUCK. Descr.—Male, with the head, cheeks, sides of neck, and hind neck, beautiful pale rosy-pink, with, in the breeding season, a small tuft of still brighter rosy on the top of the head; the rest of the plumage fine glossy dark chocolate-brown, paler and less glossed beneath ; speculum and the inner webs of many of the quills pale reddish fawn or dull salmon colour; edge of the wing white; uppermost tertiaries rich glossy-green; lower wing- coverts and quills beneath pale dull pink colour, with a sating lustre. Bill reddish-white, rosy at the base and faintly bluish at the tip; irides fine orange-red; legs and feet blackish, with a tinge of red. Length 24 inches; wing 114; extent 39; tail 44; bill at front 21; tarsus 24; mid-toe 23. PINK-HEADED DUCK. 177 The female has the pink of the head somewhat more dull and pale, and the vertex has a brownish spot in some, which is conti- nued faintly down the back of the neck. The young birds have the head and neck pale vinous-isabella colour, with the top of the head, nape, and hind neck, brown; the whole plumage lighter brown, in some mixed with whitish beneath. This very lovely Duck is most common in parts of Bengal, but is found at times throughout Northern India, is rare in the N. W. Provinces, and still more so in Central and Southern India. I have procured it rarely as far south as Madras, and long ago heard of its occasional visits to the Deccan, but it is only since I have visited Bengal that I have seen it in its native haunts. It shows a decided preference for tanks and jheels well sheltered by over- hanging bushes, or abounding in dense reeds, and in such places it may be found in the cold season in flocks of twenty or so occa- sionally, but generally in smaller parties of from four to eight. During the heat of the day, it generally remains near the middle of the tank or jheel, and is somewhat shy and wary. It breeds towards the end of the hot season, and its eggs are said to be laid among thick grass not far from the water. Its cry is very similar to that of the domestic Duck. The beautiful pale rosy tint of the under surface of the wings is very conspicuous during flight, and renders this species very readily distinguishable even at some. distance. This Duck is said also to occur in Burmah. It is excellent eating. Many other species of Anas are recorded, but the only other Eastern ones are A. duzonica, Fraser, and A. superciliosa, Miill. and Schleg. Gen. CHAULELASMUS, Gray. Syn. Chauliodus, Swains. Char.—Bill equal to the head, depressed throughout, of nearly uniform width, but slightly narrowing. towards the tip, which has a small nail; the lamellz long, projecting; wings lengthened : tail rather lone; the central feathers slightly lengthened. Gadwalls differ from the true Ducks in their slightly shorter bill, and more lengthened and delicate lamella. They are said by z 178 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. Selby to be more aquatic than the wild Ducks, and to dive readily, but I‘have not observed this latter habit. 18. Chaulelasmus streperus, Liv. Anas apud Linnazus—BuytTu, Cat. 1777—Jerpon Cat. 381— SYKES, Cat. 216—Goutp, Birds of Europe, pl. 366. THE GADWALL. Descr.—Male, head and neck greyish white, speckled with brown; back dark clove-brown, with white crescentic lines; scapulars undulated with white and blackish brown; rump and upper tail-coverts black, glossed with purplish blue; tail cinereous brown, edged and tipped with white ; lesser wing-coverts grey, mixed with white; median wing-coverts rich brownish chesnut; greater coverts glossy black; speculum white above, black beneath ; quills brown; tertials brownish grey; lower part of the neck and breast dark brown with white crescentic lines; abdomen white, minutely speckled with greyish brown, and the flanks with brown and white undulations ; lower tail-coverts glossy black. Bill brownish black, tinged with reddish beneath; irides dark- brown; legs pale orange. Length about 20 inches; wing 103; tail 34; bill at front 13; tarsus 14. | The female has the head black mixed with whitish, a pale super- ciliary streak; the upper parts deep brown, the feathers edged with buff; the lesser wing-coverts hair-brown, margined paler; the speculum as in the male; the tail marbled with brown and whitish ; the chin and throat white ; breast pale buff, with brown spots, and the rest of the lower parts white; the bill paler, and its margins reddish. The Gadwall is by no means a rare bird in any part of India, in the cold weather, generally frequenting the more open and larger tanks in moderately large parties. Its flight is rapid, and its voice not unlike that of the common Duck. It is found over the greater part of the Old Continent, and also in America. It is justly considered one of the best wild Ducks for the table. No other species of Gadwall is recorded, ee ee PINTAIL DUCK. : 179 Gen. DariLa, Leach. Char.—Tail long, of sixteen feathers, with the central feathers much lengthened and narrow ; neck very long ; bill slightly narrower than in the preceding forms, and elevated at the base, equal to the head, of uniform width; lamellx not projecting; wings long, the Ist primary longest. The Pintails are, by some, not separated from the Teals, but their larger size, long necks, and lengthened rectrices, sufficiently charac- terize them. 19. Dafila acuta, Livy. Anas apud Linn mus—Buytu. Cat. 1775—JERDON, Cat. 385— Gouxtp, Birds of Europe, pl. 365—Dig-hous, Beng.—Kokarali, Sindh. Tur Pintain Duck. Descr.—Male, forehead and crown umber-brown, the feathers with paler edges; the rest of the head, chin, and throat, dark hair- brown, slightly glossed behind the ears with purplish green; fore- part of the neck and two lateral streaks, passing upwards to the occiput, white; neck above deep blackish-brown ; the whole of the back beautifully marked with transverse undulating lines of black and greyish-white; scapulars black; upper tail-coverts and tail dark cinereous brown, the edges of the feathers paler, and the two central elongated tail-feathers black; wing-coverts and primaries hair-brown ; lesser wing-coverts smoke-grey ; the speculum black- ish-green, glossed with purple, bordered above by a pale ferruginous bar, and below by a white one; tertiaries long and acuminate, velvet-black, with a broadish edging of greyish or yellowish- white; breast and abdomen white, the sides of both with trans- verse black and whitish lines, and the latter minutely speckled with grey towards the vent; under tail-coverts black. | Bill black, the sides of the upper mandible bluish ; irides dark brown; legs blackish grey. Length 25 to 28 inches; wing nearly 11; tail 84; bill 23; tarsus 12; middle toe 23. The female is smaller, has the head and neck reddish brown, speckled and streaked with dusky; the upper plumage umber- 1SO WILD FOWL OF INDIA. brown, the feathers edged with reddish white ; wing-coverts brown, edged white; lower parts pale fuivous, obscurely spotted with brown; speculum dull without the green gloss ; tail, with the two medial feathers, scarcely longer than the others. The males of this species are said, by an actual change of colour in the feathers, to assume the female plumage for a short time after incubation, but to change it at the autumnal moult. The Pintail is one of the most numerous winter visitants to India in the present sub-family, frequenting large tanks and jheels, often in immense flocks, and flying with great rapidity. Its long brown neck and lengthened tail causes it to be readily dis- tinguished when in flight. Its call is soft and subdued, and it is by no means garrulous. Few Ducks are brought to the different mar- kets for sale in such abundance as this species, and it is very ex- cellent eating. Like most of the Ducks, it has a wide geographical distribution throughout both Continents, and breeds in northern regions, laying eight or ten bluish-white eggs. Another species of Pintailis D. bahamensis, L., the type of Pecilonetta, Eyton. Gen. Mareca, Stephens. Char.—Bill short, raised at the base, narrowing towards the tip ; nail moderate; lamella distant, projecting in the middle of the bill; tail short, cuneate, of fourteen feathers; hind-toe small with a narrow web. The Wigeons have the bill shorter than in the wild Duck and Teal, more raised at the base and narrow at the tip, and with the lamelle short and distant, more like those of the Anserine. In accordance with this structure, they live chiefly on grasses, &c., which they are said to pluck like geese. In the form of the tail, and also in that of the tracheal labyrinth, they most resemble the Pintails. 20. Mareca Penelope, Livy. Anas apud Linnzus—Buiytu, Cat. 1778—Sykks, Cat. 219— A. fistularis, Brisson—Jmerpon, Cat. 380—GouLp, Birds of Murope, pl. 359—-Cheyun, Nep. WIGEON. 181 Tue WIGEON. Descr.—Male, forehead and crown creamy-yellow; rest of the head and upper part of the neck chesnut-red ; the cheeks speckled with black; back minutely barred with transverse wavy lines of black and white; scapulars black, edged with white; tail blackish grey ; wing-coverts pure white; the greater coverts with velvet black tips, some of the lesser ones, near the body, pale ereyish; quills cinereous brown; speculum of three bars, the middle one glossy green, the upper and under ones black; chin and throat black ; lower part of the neck and breast vinaceous red ; abdomen white, the flanks with black and white wavy lines; under tail-coverts black, glossed green. Bill plumbeous blue, black at the tip; irides red-brown; legs dusky leaden. Leneth 184 inches; wing 103; tail 43; bill at front 12; tarsus barely 14; mid-toe not quite 2. The female has the head and neck fulvous brown, speckled with dusky ; the back and scapulars dusky brown with reddish edges; wing-coverts brown, edged with whitish; the speculum without the dark green gloss; the breast and belly much as in the male; the flanks rufous brown with ashy tips; bill and legs more dusky than in the male. In some specimens, the forehead alone is yellowish, that tint not extending over the top of the head. In summer the head and neck of the male become spotted with black; the back and scapulars are mottled and barred with brown and dusky; the breast and sides are reddish-brown, with darker bars and lines; the under tail-coverts white, with brown bars. The Wigeon cannot be said to be either common or abundant in India, although it is met with occasionally in every part of the country, in small or moderate flocks. It has a peculiar shrill whist- ling call chiefly heard during flight. Its geographical distribution is over the northern and temperate regions of the Old Continent. It breeds far north, and, though very abundant in Britain, is only a winter visitant there. The American Wigeon is very closely allied, and was formerly considered identical. Md. castanea, Eyton, and MM. gibberifrons, 182 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. Miiller, are eastern Ducks considered to belong to this genus, and , there are others from Africa and America. Gen. QUERQUEDULA, Stephens. Char.—Bill of moderate length and of uniform width, slightly raised at the base; the lamella not apparent; the nail small, and the tip obtuse ; wing long and pointed ; tail wedge-shaped, of 14 or 16 feathers. The Teals, so called, are simply small Ducks, much of the same type as restricted Anas, but with the bill longer and narrower, assuming a semi-cylindric shape; the laminz, too, are shorter and less prominent. They are of somewhat slender make, and fly very rapidly. Several species are known, all of small size. 21. Querquedula crecca, Linn. Anas apud Linnzus—BuyTu, Cat. 1780—Syxus, Cat. 222— JERDON, Cat. 384—GouLp, Birds of Europe, pl. 362— Tulsia bigri, Beng. THE COMMON TEAL. Descr.—Male, crown of head, cheeks, front and sides of the neck, ferruginous brown; on the sides of the head, inclosing the eye, a large patch of deep glossy green, passing off backwards tothe nape in the form of a broad band; back and scapulars beautifully marked with transverse undulating lines of black and white, some of the longer scapulars creamy-yellow, with a portion of their outer webs velvet black; tail hair brown, the feathers edged with white; wing-coverts brown, tinged with grey; the speculum, formed by the tips of the secondary coverts, deep green in the middle, velvet black at the sides, bordered above by a broad yellowish white bar; chin black; lower part of the neck in front, and breast, reddish or creamy-white, with round black spots ; abdomen white; lower tail-coverts blackish-brown, bordered at the sides with yellowish-white. Bill blackish; irides hazel-brown; legs greyish-brown. Length 144 inches; wing 74; tail barely 3; bill at front 14; tarsus 13; mid-toe 13. BLUE-WINGED TEAL. 183 The female has the head, neck, and all the upper parts, dusky- brown, the feathers more or less broadly edged with pale reddish- brown; the throat, cheeks, and a band behind the eyes, yellowish- white, spotted with black; the speculum as in the male, and the under parts yellowish-white. The well known Teal is one of the most abundant as well as the earliest of the visitors to India. I have seen it early in Septem- ber, and it is late before it leaves the country. It frequents both tanks and rivers, often in immense flocks, and its flight is amazingly rapid. Large numbers are netted or caught in various ways to supply the Tealeries. Itis a strictly night-feeding species and about sunset flocks may be seen and heard flying in different directions to their feeding grounds. Its geographical distribution is similar to that of most of the Ducks of this sub-family, and it breeds in northern and temperate regions. The next species is placed under Pterocyanea, Bonap., differing in having the points of the lamella just visible, and the bill slightly broader in proportion making an approach to the Gadwalls. 22. Querquedula circia, Lisvzus. Anas apud Linn&zus—Buyvu, Cat. 1781—Syxus, Cat. 221,— JERDON, Cat. 383—GouLD, Birds of Europe, pl. 364—A. quer- quedula, Linn. THE BLUE-WINGED TEAL. Descr.—Male, crown, occiput, and a line down the back of the neck, umber-brown; over each eye a band of pure white, pro- longed down the sides of the neck ; cheeks and upper part of the neck chesnut-brown, with fine longitudinal streaks of white ; back brown, glossed with green, the feathers edged with ashy and yellowish-brown ; scapulars long and acuminate, black, with a broad central white streak ; wing-coverts bluish-ash ; speculum greyish-green, bordered above and below by a white bar; tail dusky-grey, the feathers edged lighter ; upper tail-coverts yel- lowish-white, spotted with black ; chin black; lower part of the neck and breast pale fulvous, with crescent-shaped black bars ; 184 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. abdomen white, the flanks with transverse wavy lines of black ; vent and under tail-coverts yellowish-white, spotted with black. Bill blackish-brown ; irides hazel ; legs dusky. Length 154-16 inches ; wing 8; tail nearly 3; bill at front 12; tarsus 13; mid- toe not quite 12. The female has the head, neck, and upper parts, dusky-brown, the feathers, with whitish edges; the eye streak faint; wing- coverts dark ash-grey ; speculum dull, the green tinge almost wanting ; the chin and throat white ; the lower part of the breast and belly white, spotted with brown on the flanks and lower abdomen. The Blue-winged or Garganey Teal is, perhaps, still more abun- dant in India, than the common Teal, but is somewhat later in its arrival here. It occurs in vast flocks, feeding at night chiefly, and has a swift flight. Like the last, numbers are caught and fed throughout the summer in our Tealeries, and both this and the last are most excellent food. The Garganey Teal does not extend to America, but is distributed over the greater portion of the Old Continent. I have once or twice procured birds with the whole head, neck, and under parts, deep ferruginous, but I consider this to be an individual variation. Vast quantities of this and the previous species are annually caught alive, some by large flap-nets, others by nooses fixed to a long line across a jheel; and in some places, by a man wading with his head above water concealed in a large earthen chatty, several of which have previously been set afloat. | The next species has been separated by Bonaparte as Hunetta, but it only differs in its mode of coloration. 23. Querquedula glocitans, Patias. Anas apud PaLtias—Buytu, Cat. 1779—A. picta, STELLER —A. formosa, GEorGI—A. baikal, BONNATERRE. : THe CLUCKING TEAL. Descr.—Male, forehead, top of the head, and occiput, rich purple-brown, bounded by a narrow white line from the eye; CLUCKING TEAL. 185 face, cheeks, and sides of neck fawn colour; a black streak from below the eye, meeting a black patch on the throat; nape and hind neck elossy-green, ending in a black stripe down the back of the neck, separated from the fawn colour of the side of the neck by a narrow white line; upper plumage finely marbled- grey, edged with rufous on the back; upper wing-coverts hair- brown; the median coverts the same, with an edging of rufous forming the anterior margin of the speculum, which is glossy- green, ending in velvet-black, and bordered posteriorly by silvery white; primaries brown; scapulars lengthened, deep black in the centre, white on their upper side, and rufous externally ; upper tail-coverts brown, white on either side; tail of 16 feathers dark- brown; beneath the throat black; the neck and breast vinous- purple, with a few black spots, paling below; abdomen white, flanks mottled grey ; under tail-coverts black. Bill dusky; legsdusky. Length 154 inches; wing 84; tail 3; bill at front 14; tarsus 14; middle toe 12; weight 1fb. The female wants the rich markings on the head and face, which are mottled grey and brown; the scapulars are not lengthen- ed; the upper plumage is dusky, with rufous edgings; the chin and throat white; the breast rufous, largely spotted with dark-brown, as are the flanks; and the tail-coverts white, with brown spots. This beautiful Teal has been obtained on very few occasions, by Mr. Blyth, from the Calcutta Bazar, and there is no other record of its occurrence in India. It is a rare bird in Europe, and appears to be most common in Northern Asia, on the borders of Lake Baikal, extending to Japan and China. Pallas gave it its specific name in consequence of its peculiarly loud clucking-call, mok, mok-mok, lok, which Midden- dorff cails a horrible noise. Pallas states that it breeds in Eastern Siberia, laying 10 eggs in a hollow in the ground, and that it mi- orates early. A. falcata, Pallas, belongs to the same type as glocitans, but A. bimaculata is considered to be a hybrid between the Wigeon and Pintail. Q. javana, Bodd., figd. P. EH. 930.; Q. manillensis, Gmel.; and Q. numeralis, Mill. and Schl., are Eastern Teal; and there are several other recorded species of Querguedula, some . 2 186 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. from Africa, others American. Not far from the Teals should be placed the beautiful Summer Duck of North America, Aiz sponsa, L., and the still more gorgeous Mandarin Duck, A. galericulata, L. This type, by its somewhat narrow and tapering bill, appears to grade towards the Mergide. A few other forms of this sub- family are given by Bonaparte, but without any very special characteristics. Sub-fam. Funriautina#, Diving Ducks. Hind toe short, bordered by amore or less wide web ; wings shorter than in the last sub-family ; tarsus short, more compressed, set further backwards ; feet large, the web reaching to the very end of the toes, and wide; tail generally short, rounded, or somewhat wedged. The Ducks of this sub-family have a larger head and shorter neck than the true Ducks; they walk badly in consequence of the very backward position of their legs, but swim well and dive freely. There is less difference, in general, between the sexes than in the last sub-family, and there is only one moult. Many are exclusively marine Ducks, others partially so; a few are mostly fresh water, and to this last section belong all the Indian species. These vary some- what in the form of the bill and in some other points, and though closely related, and all formerly placed under Fuligula, are. now divided according to Gray (whose List of General chiefly follow) into three genera. They comprise the Fuligulee of Bonaparte. The Pochards generally have a stout heavy body, and firm, close, and thick plumage, colored in masses, mostly uniform and plain, and the speculum is less strongly marked or wanting. In all, the trachea is terminated by a labyrinth, partly osseous, partly mem- branous. Gen. BranTA, Boie. Syn. Callichen, Brehm and Gray ; Mergoides KyToN. Char.—Bill long, barely raised at the base, moderately wide; tip depressed, slightly narrowed, ending in a rather large nail; lamelle distant, large and prominent; wings moderate, Ist quill longest ; tail short, rounded, of 14 feathers. This genus comprises but one species. RED-CRESTED POCHARD. 187 24. Branta rufina, Pauwas. Anas apud Pattas—Buiyta, Cat. 1784—GouLp, Birds of Europe, pl. 369—Syxss, Cat. 223 and 224? THE RED-CRESTED POCHARD. Descr.—Male, head, cheeks, throat, and upper part of the neck reddish-bay ; the feathers on the crown elongated and of a silky texture, forming a crest somewhat paler than the rest of the head; back, wings, and tail yellowish-brown; the bend of the wing, a large spot on the sides of the back, the speculum, and the base of the primary quills white; lower part of the neck, breast, and abdomen deep black ; the flanks white. Bill bright vermilion red, the tip white ; irides red; legs orange- red. Length 22 inches; wing 10}; tail 3; bill at front 23; tarsus 14; mid-toe 24. The female has the upper parts pale yellowish-brown, darker on the head and neck, and the crest less developed; speculum half greyish-white, half pale brown; base of the quills white, tinged with brown; breast and flanks yellowish-brown ; belly grey ; bill and feet reddish-brown. This fine Duck is found throughout the greater part of India, is more rare in the South, and chiefly frequents the larger tanks and jiieels. It generally keeps to the middle of the tanks, and is a wary bird, not usually allowing a near approach. Its flesh is juicy, tender, and high flavored, and it is, by some, considered the finest Duck for the table. A writer in the India Sporting Review remarks, that during the day, they are constantly on the move, ‘now pursuing one another, now screaming, all up at once, then down again.’ It is chiefly a native of Northern Asia, North-Eastern Europe, and Northern Africa, (where it is said to breed in marshes, laying seven or eight brilliant green eggs,) wandering South in winter, and very rarely extending its migrations as far West as Britain. No other species of this genus is recorded. Gen, Aytuya, Boie. syn. Wyroca, Fleming. Char.--Bill long, raised at the base, broad, depressed, and obtuse at the tip, of nearly uniform width throughout; lamellae not pro- 188 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. minent; tail short and rounded, the feathers narrow and some- what rigid. This genus comprises two forms, one of which has been separated as a sub-genus. The birds of the first group are large Ducks, with the back usually finely undulated, and some have hence been called Canvas- backs. 25. Aythya ferina, Linnzxvs. Anas apud Linn#us—BuytTu, Cat. 1785—JERpDon, Cat. 389— GouLp, Birds of Europe, pl. 368. THE RED-HEADED POCHARD. Descr.—Male, head and neck bright chesnut-red; upper part of the back black; middle and lower back, wing-coverts, and scapulars white, with numerous fine undulating black lines; rump and upper tail-coverts black; tail dark ashy-brown; primaries deep dusky-brown; secondaries bluish-grey; breast black; ab- domen whitish, faintly undulated like the back, the lines becoming darker towards the vent; under tail-coverts black. Bill bluish-grey, the tip and base black; irides orange-yellow ; leos bluish-grey. Length 19 inches; wing 9; extent 30 ; tail 23; bill at front 2; tarsus 14. The female has the crown, nape, and sides of the neck, and the upper part of the back, reddish-brown; the back as in the male, but the lines less distinct ; throat and forepart of the neck white, mixed with reddish; breast reddish-brown, mottled with white ; the middle of the abdomen greyish-white. This Pochard appears to be more abundant in Western India than in Bengal, but occurs throughout the whole country in small parties, generally on the larger and more open tanks. It inhabits Northern Europe and Asia, and breeds among reeds and plants, laying twelve or thirteen greenish-white eggs. The American representative is now considered distinct, A. Americana, Bonap.; and there is, besides, in North America, the A, valisneria, or Canvas-back, said to be the best of all the Ducks of the New Continent. WHITE-EYED DUCK. 189 The next species (with some closely allied ones) has been sepa- rated as Myroca, and this is admitted as a sub-genus by Gray. ‘The birds are of smaller size, and have a somewhat different colouration. 26. Aythya nyroca, GULDENSTADT. Anas apud GULDENsTADT—BuytuH, Cat. 1789—JeRDON, Cat. 391—A. leucophthalmos, Becasrrrn—A. glaucion, PaLLAs— GOULD, Birds of Europe, pl. 368—Lal-bigri, Beng. Tue WHITE-EYED DUCK. Descr.—Male, head and neck deep ferruginous, with a narrow collar of blackish-brown on the lower part of the neck; back, scapulars, and wing-coverts dusky-brown, somewhat glossed with green and purple, and the whole finely powdered with pale red- dish-brown ; upper tail-coverts and tail cusky-brown, with a dash of ferruginous ; primaries dusky ; speculum white, edged with black in the lower part; chin whitish; lower part of the neck and breast bright ferruginous ; abdomen and under tail-coverts pure white ; the lower portion and vent blackish-grey. Bill bluish ; irides white; legs grey. Length 16 inches; wing 72; tail 2; bill at front 13 ; tarsus 14; middle toe nearly 2. The female differs from the male in the head and neck being brown, the feathers edged with ferruginous; the upper parts are glossy umber-brown, the feathers edged with pale brown; the irides are less pure white, and the bill and feet are dusky-orey; otherwise as in the male. In the young, there is still less ferruginous, and the irides are pale brownish. This little Duck is exceedingly common in Northern and Central India, less so in the South. It frequents both tanks and rivers, and prefers grassy tanks and wooded jheels and rivers. It appears to feed a good deal during the day, and is met with in large parties scattered among the grass or weeds, the birds often rising singly. This Pochard inhabits the same countries as the other species, and is occasionally killed in Brita. It is stated to breed in Northern Africa. One or two allied species are recorded from a Australia, and another from the Marianne islands. ON hy 2 ¥ - 190 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. Gen. Funicguxa, Stephens. Syn. Platypus, Brehm—Fuliz, SUNDEVALL. Char.—Bill moderately long, not raised at the base, broad throughout, depressed, the sides dilated, and the tip somewhat broader than the base; lamelle distant, not prominent; nostrils advanced; wings moderate ; tail short, rounded. These Ducks have the widest bills in this sub-family. The first species has been separated as Marila, Reich. It has the bill propor- tionally longer than in restricted Fuligula, and not quite so broad. 27. Fuligula marila, Linn zvs. Anas apud Linna&zus—BuytTu, Cat. 1787—Gouxp, Birds of Europe, pl. 371. THe Scaup PocHARD. Descr.—Male, head and neck black, glossed with green ; top of the back and scapulars whitish, with zig-zag black lines ; lower back and upper tail-coverts black; tail brown; wing-coverts black, marbled with ashy; speculum white; quills brown; lower neck and breast deep black; abdomen and sides pure white, with brown zig-zag markings on the lower portion; under tail-coverts black. Bill clear bluish above, dusky below, the tip black; irides brilliant yellow ; legs bluish-ashy, the webs blackish. The female has the head and neck blackish-brown, with a large white space round the eye ; back, scapulars, and wings with brown and white zig-zag markings; lower back and upper tail-coverts smoky-black ; lower neck and breast deep brown; abdomen white, marked with brown posteriorly. Bill deep grey. Length 19 to 20 inches; wing 9; extent 29; tail 24; bill at front nearly 2; tarsus 1}; mid-toe 24. The Scaup Duck has hitherto only been recorded from Nepal, and must be a very rare visitant. It inhabits the Northern regions of Europe, Asia, and America, and prefers sea-coasts and the mouths of tidal rivers to fresh water lakes; it feeds chiefly on molluscs. The American representative of this species is separated by Bonaparte as F. mariloides ; another species from New Zealand is recorded by Bonaparte. TUFTED DUCK. 191 28. Fuligula cristata, Ray. BiytH, Cat. 1788--Syxns, Cat. 225—JErDon, Cat. 390—A. fulicula, Linnzus—Gou Lp, Birds of Europe, pl. 370—Dubaru, H.—WNella chilluwa, Tel.— Golden-eye of Indian Sportsmen. THe Turrep Duck. Descr.—Head and neck, including the long, pendent, silky crest, glossy black with green and purple reflections; back, wings, and rump black, slightly glossed and powdered with greyish- white ; breast glossy black; rest of the lower parts pure white; the vent black; speculum, formed by the secondaries, white, with a narrow greenish-black edge ; tertials glossy green. Bill dark bluish-grey, the tip black; irides golden-yellow ; legs leaden, the webs dusky. Length 17 inches; wing 8;; extent 28 ; tail rather more than 2; bill at front 1,4; tarsus 13; mid- toe 23. The female has the colours somewhat duller and more brown; the crest not so long; the speculum smaller, and the lower parts spotted with brown. The young want the crest, and have the base of the bill and region of the eyes varied with white. The Tufted Duck is very common in Central and Southern India, less so in Bengal. It frequents open tanks, keeping well away from the edges, and is generally found in small or moderately sized parties. It is very late in leaving India, and I once killed one in June, near Hyderabad in the Deccan. It is found throughout Europe and Asia, breeding in the North. It feeds on water-insects and molluscs. The American representative is A. collaris, Don, (rufitorques, Bonap.) Other Ducks of this sub-family are the Sea-ducks, the Hiders, Scoters, Steamer-ducks, &c. The Sea-Ducks are classed by Bonaparte under the section Clangulee, andthe Eiders and Scoters under Somateriew; they might perhaps form one sub-family, all having a somewhat similar style of colouring, and being mostly denizens of Northern Seas. Among the Clangulee deserving of notice are the beautiful Harelda glacialis, or long-tailed Sea-duck: this species moults twice a year, and appears to be very distinct from the other types; 192 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. the bill is short and narrow anteriorly. The Harlequin Duck, A. histrionica, variegated in a fantastic way with black and white, forms the genus Histrionicus, Lesson. The garrots or golden-eyes form the genus Clangula. They differ in habit from the other Sea-ducks, preferring fresh water, and they breed in the hollows of trees. ‘Their heads appear very full and puffy, and they seem to grade into the Fuliqulea. The Hider Duck, Somateria moillissima (L.,) 1s the type of the next group: its down, and that of the King-duck, S. spectabilis, are highly esteemed. Anas S¢ellert, Pallas, forms the type of Stelleria, Bonap. The Scoters are large dark coloured Ducks that dive remarkably well, and live on shell-fish. The best known species are Oidemia nigra, the Black Scoter, and O. fusca, the velvet Scoter, both from Northern Seas. The Micropteree contain Micropterus cinereus, the Steamer or Racer-duck of Southern Seas. It flies badly, having short wings, but swims and dives with rapidity. Camptclemus labra- dorus is another Duck of the same group. The Hrismaturine are classed as a family by Bonaparte. Their chief characteristics are the stiff and pointed tail-feathers. Among the most remarkable forms are Biziura lobata of Australia, with a large fleshy appendage hanging under the bill; Evrismatura leucoce- phala, from lakes in Northern Asia and Africa, rarely killed in Eastern Hurope; and there are species of this genus from Africa, America, and Australia. Nesenetta Aucklandie, Gray, is another type, as is Dhalassornis of Eyton. Fam. MERGIDz. Bill straight, narrow, cylindrical, the tip well bent over ; the edges of the mandibles armed with strong teeth pointing backwards ; nostrils median, longitudinal; tarsus short, set far backwards ; feet large, hind toe lobed; wings moderate ; tail wedge-shaped, of 16 or 18 feathers. Form lengthened and flattened. Head more or less crested. The Mergansers form a well-marked group in this tribe. Their narrow and toothed bill is very unlike that of the Ducks, although the teeth are only a modification of the lamella. Their flight is strong and swift, but their gait on land is awkward. They moult MERGANSER. 193 in autumn only, and the colours of the males undergo an extraordinary amount of change towards mid-summer from an altera- tion in the colour of the feathers themselves. They do not acquire their full plumage till the second autumnal moult. They are excel- lent divers, using their wings as well as their feet; and they live chiefly on fish. The tongue is long, pointed and ciliated; the gizzard is less muscular, and their intestines shorter than those of the ducks. They possess two ceca of moderate length. The labyrinth or the lower part of the trachea of the males is enormous, and partly membranous. Only five or six species are known. Of these, two visit India in winter; one found in rivers in the Hima- layas; the other spread sparingly through Northern India. Gen. Mereus, Linn. Char.—Those of the family. The following species is separated by Bonaparte as Merganser :-— 29. Mergus castor, Linyzvs. BuyTH, Cat. 1798—M. merganser, Linn.—M. orientalis, GouLD—GOoULD, Birds of Europe, pl. 384. THE MERGANSER. Descr.—Male, head (with a short thick crest,) and upper part of the neck, glossy blackish-green; lower part of the neck white ; upper back and scapulars next the body, deep black; the rest of the back and upper tail-coverts ashy, the tips of the feathers whitish here and there ; tail ashy-grey; breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts white, tinged with orange-buff; wing-coverts and outermost scapulars rich buff-orange, and the latter edged with black. Bill deep blood-red, black on the culmen, paler at the edges; irides red; feet orange-red. Length 26 inches ; wing 11; bill at front 21; tarsus 2. The female (and young males till the second moult,) have the head and neck reddish-brown ; the throat white ; the upper plumage ashy ; beneath yellowish-white, the sides of the breast and the flanks pale ashy; a white speculum; primaries black; tail ashy- brown. 2 6 194 WILD FOWL OF INDIA. Bill and feet dull red. Length 23 inches ; extent 35 ; wing 103; bill at front 14. The Merganser is chiefly found, in India, on rivers within the Himalayas, in small parties. I have frequently seen it on the great Rungeet in Sikkim, and also in rivers in Kumaon, and on the Ganges at Hurdwar. One instance only is recorded of its occur- rence in Central India, it having been procured by Tickell at Chybassa. Captain Smyth recently gave me two very large con- cretions found in one of these birds, but I have not yet had them examined. It is said to breed on holes of trees. The next species, from its small size, and shorter bill, as well distinct mode of colouration, is separated as Mergellus. Gen. MERGELLUS. Char.—Bill shorter, and somewhat wider than in Mergus, the tip much less hooked ; teeth numerous and prominent in the lower mandible. Of small size. Pied, black and white, tail of 16 feathers. 30. Mergellus albellus, Linyzus. Mergus apud Linnzxus—GouLD, Birds of Europe, pl. 387. THE SMEwW. Descr.—Male, a large patch on each side of the base of the bill enclosing the eyes, and another longitudinal one on the occiput, black glossed with green; the rest of the head, occipital crest, and neck white; back, some of the lesser wing-coverts, and the pri- maries black ; scapulars white, edged with black on the outer webs; secondaries and greater wing-coverts black, tipped with white; some of the lesser wing-coverts white ; upper tail-coverts and tail bluish-grey ; all the lower parts white, with two crescentic bands of black advancing from the shoulders, one nearly encircling the lower part of the breast, the other the upper part of the breast; flanks and thigh-coverts with wavy black lines. Bill bluish-grey ; irides brown; legs plumbeous. Length 16 to 17 inches; wing 72; tail 3; bill at front 14; tarsus 1}. The female has the crown, cheeks, and occiput reddish-brown, the crest shorter than in the male; back, upper tail-coverts, and tail deep ashy-grey ; wings as in the male, but the dark parts grey SMEW. 195 instead of black; the throat, sides and front of the upper neck, and the abdomen white; and the lower neck, breast and flanks, clouded with ash colour. Bill and legs dark grey. Much smaller than the male, and Pallas states that she has only 14 rectrices. The Smew is found occasionally in various parts of Northern India during the cold weather. It has been killed near Cuttack ; in Oude; is said not to be rare near Delhi; and has also been met with in Sindh. . It inhabits the north of both Continents, breeding in high lati- tudes in crevices and holes of trees, and laying 8 eggs. The young have pale or whitish down, and Mr. Wolley, who remarks this fact, states that no duck that has white down lays its eggs in an exposed situation; the converse, however, does not hold good, for the little Cotton-teal, that always breeds in holes, has black down. It is said to be an excellent diver, and to feed on fish, crustacea, and water insects, is very shy and vigilant, and flies rapidly. During flight it continually utters its peculiar bell-like call, hence it is called the Bell-duck in Northern Asia. Its flesh is exceedingly fishy, and, says Pallas, is rarely eaten even by the Russians. The same naturalist states that it returns very early from its winter migrations, the females arriving first, they are hence called Widows by some. A very handsome species, Mergus cucullatus, from America, a rare visitant to England, is separated by Reichenbach as Lopho- dytes; and the red-breasted Merganser of Europe, is retained under restricted Mergus. One or two additional species of this family are recorded, one of which, Merganetta armata, differs in its somewhat rounded wing, armed with a spur. FINIS. Printed at the Military Orphan Press, 6, Bankshall Street. - ; ‘ 7 ae fait « 3 ; ig Yat Nae Co vq 5 ha . j * / 0% i —a 4 ; ‘ ; . > ce tf 7 bal x TBS ’ ne | y Ae ¢ va Wi a iB he Bh 2 i r . , “ % f As a ect 3 od y andi) i : ~ CTT Adel] Se a AS Ha ih ae a me I + \ . y LJ x? Nae ae 1) bee) ek ‘it wna utyans 8 ; itt idady estick ghia | ; 1) eet ea Ale ae 5 hh bi fais BusH-QUAILS Jungle bush- quail | . iP: hinted Do. Rock Do. BusTARDS ... Houbara bustar ti Large Do.. BusTARD-QUAIL Common bustard-quail Hill DOs ccs Button-quail, The Large Do. Ducks Braminy Gadwall Do. Mallard Do. Pink-headed Do. Pintail Do. Spotted-billed Do. Shoveller Do. Tufted Dow White-eyed Jo. Wigeon Do. FLAMINGO a FLORIKIN ... Bengal Blovilan Leek or lesser Do.... GEESE Dace” Sas INDEX. ——_2e —— Page. 93 | PrarowL 94| PHEASANTS. 98| Argus pheasants 96 Blood Do. 117 Cheer Do. 122 Kali Do. 118 Monaul Do. 108 Pukras Do. 40.)| POCHARDS ).... 110 Red-crested Poehards. 113 Red-headed Do. 112/ Scaup Do. 172 QUALLS, 2 soe Saute 167 Blue-breasted Quail a 178 Common Dow. Be uh 174 Rain* Do. 176 eee soe Oe eas juteed headed Coase. oe i Black-backed Do. ... Dwarf Do. Grey Dom: vs Pink-footed Do. Wiktteronted’ Do... . J UNGLE-FOWL Grey J ungle-fowl o Red Do. Merganser, The PAaRTRIDGES Black Partridge. : . Chukor Don Grey Do. Hill Do. Kyah Do. Painted Do. Seesee Do. Snow Do. ecearece eer ore 202 vee OLD HOG Rock Picron or SAND-GROUSE Common Sand-grouse Large Do. Painted Do. Pin-tailed Do. SHIELDRAKES Common Shieldr alee. 2s Ruddy Do. Smew, The... SNIPE ns Common Snipe Jack Do® ... Painted Do. Pin-tailed Do. Solitary Do. Wood Doyles Snow-cock or Snow-pheasant SPUR-FOWL ... Painted Spur- -fowl Red Won. DA SNG an Blue- winged ical Clucking Dor. ‘ Goninon Do. 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