INDIA N D UCKS A ND THE IE A LLIES. 48 1 



" Young. — Similar to the female but all the markings and tints still 

 duller, the lower pai-ts almost uniform dull pale creyish." (iSalvadori). 



A young female obtained by Major Olivier and now in this Society's 

 collection has the wing only 7'42" but at the same time has the bill 

 about 1-8". 



The range of the Marbled Teal extends from the countries to the 

 West of the Mediterranean Sea, through those bordering it North and 

 South into Western Asia, India being its Eastern limit. It is also 

 found in the Canaries. 



As regards India little has been recorded about its habitat since Hume 

 wrote in " Game Birds '' : — 



" Its normal range with us (it is presumably only a cold weather 

 visitant) appears to be the whole of Sindh (from every CoUectorate in which 

 it has been recorded, and where it is extremely common) and Northern 

 Guzerat, the Southern pai-t of the Dehra Gazi Khan district, and of 

 Bhawalpur, in all three of which it is a regular but less abundant visitant. 

 No doubt it will be met with in Kutch and Kathiawar, but it has not 

 been thence recorded as yet. 



" But outside these limits, it occurs much further east as a straggler. 

 I have had specimens from Western Oodeypore, and fron; near Delhi. 

 The late Mr. A. Anderson procured it in the North- West Provinces 

 at Futtehgarh, and in Oudh near Hurdui ; and I myself procured two 

 freshly killed specimens in the Calcutta Market, the one in December 

 and the other in February, which had been captured about 22 miles 

 south-west, and some 18 miles west, respectively of the metropolis." 



Since this was wi'itten the Marbled Teal has been obtained in Kutch, 

 several times again about Delhi and more than once also in the 

 Calcutta Market, but nothing has been recorded that I can find which 

 in any way extends the original area as given by Hume. A specimen, 

 lent me from this Society's collection, has no locality given on its 

 ticket, but was presumably collected in one of the places above men- 

 tioned. 



I should note that once when showing this specimen to a friend he at 

 once said that he had shot two birds of the same kind in Gowhatty, 

 Assam; he said that neither he nor any of the men to whom he showed 

 them had ever seen the duck before and could not name it. He was 

 very sure of its being the same species. 

 4 



