INDIAN DUCKS AND TIIETR ALLIES. 21 



Purneah ; two specimens — an adult male and a young bird of tlie same 

 sex— are in the Lucknow Museum, and were, I believe, obtained near 

 that place. Besides these, one was lately obtained in Upper Burma, near 

 Bhamo, and is the only one 1 can find recorded from Burma except 

 Anderson's. Major Cowley, of the 4:3rd Gurkha Regiment, obtained one 

 in Manipur, and, as far as I can ascertain, this is the only one ever seen 

 in that vState. 



In addition to these, recorded above, the only other specimen I have 

 ever heard of was one, a young male, shot by my father, E. B. Baker, 

 in Jessore. 



There is no reason however that sportsmen in Upper Burma should 

 not meet with this bird more often than would seem to be the case, for 

 N.-E. Burma is well within the range of its annual migratioiis, and 

 doubtless when men wake up to the fact that records of rare ducks are 

 still desirable, we shall have a good many from that quarter. Anderson 

 obtained specimens on the Taipeng river in Upper Burma ; but I 

 cannot ascertain how many he got. 



The Bronze- capped Teal, when found within our limits, appears always 

 singly or in pairs, perhaps veiy rarely in small parties. In places 

 where it is more numerous it collects in flocks, as a rule rather small, 

 consisting of about twenty to thirty individuals, but at other times in 

 very large flocks ; and they are said to arrive at the borders of other breed- 

 ing-grounds in immense flights. 



It has the reputation of being a very sociable, if not highly gregarious, 

 bird, and their small flocks frequently, indeed generally, seem to mix much 

 with larger flocks of other species of teal and duck, with whom they feed 

 and sleep in perfect hannony. 



The flight is said to be swift and teal-like, and the bird to be very 

 strong and active on the whig. I can find no record concerning these 

 birds' s^vimming and diving powers, so that we may expect to find that 

 these are neither aljuormally developed nor yet much less in extent than 

 they are in other teal. 



Its cry when on the wing is noted as a " tolerably loud and piercino- 

 whistle" (Pejeralski) ; and it has also been heard to give vent to a chuc- 

 kling quack as it swims about feeding. 



Its diet seems to be principally, if not wholly, vegetarian, but very 

 little has been written on this point. 



