STIFF-TAILED DUCK 37 



known in captivit}', in which state it often breeds. The nest is 

 on the ground in rushes, and the eggs, when fresh, are remark- 

 able for the brightness of their green colour, about eight being 

 the usual clutch. 



Stiff-tailed Duck. 



Erismatura leucocephala. 



The remarkable appearance of this duck always attracts 

 attention ; it sits very low in the water, often erecting its long 

 thin wiry tail, which balances as it were the big head with 

 its remarkably broad bill, much bulged at the root. When 

 approached it dives in preference to flying, and if it does rise 

 does not usually travel far ; the wings are extraordinarily small. 

 The plumage is peculiar but not striking, being of a pencilled 

 brown, sometimes much tinged with chestnut. The head is 

 marked with a lateral streak of white on a blackish ground, 

 and the throat is white, the bill and feet slate-colour. At 

 least, that is the plumage of most of the specimens which 

 turn up in India ; the adult male is a really striking-looking 

 bird, with a sky-blue bill and snow-white head and throat, 

 set off by a black crown and neck. Although extremely broad, 

 this bird is hardly longer than a common teal, and its wings are 

 considerably smaller than in that species ; yet the weight must 

 be twice as much, and it is a wonder how the bird manages to 

 travel at all. The wings fold up very closely as in a grebe, and 

 are of a plain drab colour without any mark. The tail is not 

 always of the same length, but its wiry character and the 

 scantiness of the coverts at its base are distinctive. 



The stiff-tail is a duck of rather unsocial habits and never 

 seen in large flocks ; those found in India have generally been 

 alone or at most in pairs. They are found on rivers as well as 

 in pools, and are probably pretty widely distributed, specimens 

 having occurred from Kashmir to the Calcutta Bazaar. Here 

 I once got a live one, but this unfortunately had one leg hope- 

 lessly disabled, and moreover would not or could not eat, so I 

 was reluctantly obliged to make a specimen of it. In spite of 

 its affliction it was so tame that it would plume itself while 



