INDIAN DUCKS AND THEIR ALLIES. 3 



condition 2 lbs. 8 oz. to 3 lbs., but I have shot them up to 4 lbs." — 

 (Hmne.) 



" Total length about 24 inches ; wing 10'50" to 11-50"; tail 4'41" 

 culmen 2-2" ; tarsus 1-85"."— (Salvador!.) 



Female. — ^Chin and throat pale bufF; remainder of upper and lower 

 parts dark brown with bufF edges ; on the lower parts the brown 

 centres are reduced to streaks only ; rectrices brovrn, edged with pale 

 bufF ; wings as in the male. 



The depth of the brown and its tint vary much, as does the boldness 

 of the edging. In some birds the centres and edges blend into one 

 another, whilst in others they eonstrast very distinctly. 



Length 20*0" to 21-75" ; wing 9-2" to 10-8" ; tail from vent 4*1" to 4-7" ; 

 tarsus 1-5" to 1*7" ; bill from gape 2-47" to 2-63" ; weight (as above) 

 1 lb. 10 oz. to 2 lbs. JO oz. 



" Young in first plumage resembles adult female, but the male is some- 

 what darker in colour." — (Salvadori.) 



•' Young in down has the upper parts dark brown, with nearly white 

 spots on the wings, scapulars, and sides of the rump ; the under parts 

 are pale Ijrown, palest on the belly, and shading into buff on the throat ; 

 it has a buff stripe over the eye, a dark brown stripe through the eye, 

 and a dark spot at the end of the ear coverts." — (Seebohm.) Waterton, as 

 quoted by Hume, describing the change of plumage in the drake 

 into its post-nuptial plumage, says : *' At the close of the breeding season 

 the drake undergoes a very remarkable change of plumage. About the 

 24th of May the breast and back of the drake exhibit the first appear- 

 ance of a change of colour. In a few days after this the curled feathers 

 above the tail drop out, and grey feathers begin to appear amongst the 

 lovely green plumage which surrounds the eyes. Every succeeding day 

 now brings marks of a rapid change. By the 23rd June scarce one 

 single green feather is to be seen on the head and neck of the bird. 

 By the 6th of July every feather of the former brilliant plmnage has 

 disappeared, and the male has received a garb like that of the female, 

 though of a somewhat darker tint. In the early part of August this 

 new plumage begins to drop off gradually ; and by the 10th of October 

 the drake will appear again in all his rich mag-nificence of dress." 



Salvadori thus defines the habitat of the Mallard : " Northern 

 Hemisphere, rarely north of the Arctic circle ; in Africa extending from 



