COMB-DUCK 45 



interrupted by a bar of black. The male in undress is very like 

 the female, but has a black upper back. 



This species is decidedly smaller than the goosander, but has 

 quite as long a beak, which is, however, much slenderer, less 

 hooked, and shows more teeth. It resembles the goosander in 

 being a greedy devourer of fish, is a fine diver and fairly good 

 walker, and is excessively wary, at any rate in Europe. In India 

 it has only been got once or twice at Karachi, once in the Calcutta 

 Bazaar and once in the Quetta district. 



Comb-Duck. 



Sarcidiornis melanonotua. Niikta, Hindustani. 



The comb-duck is often called, even by Europeans, by its 

 best known native name of Nukta or Nukica, and the practice 

 is one to be commended, as in all cases where a bird is of a type 

 of its own and unfamiliar to Europeans. Although to some 

 extent intermediate between ducks and geese, the nukta would 

 never have been called a black-backed " goose " were the male no 

 bigger than the female, since she is obviously a duck ; he, 

 however, is quite as big as an ordinary wild goose, weighing 

 between five and six pounds, while the female is only about 

 three. 



In plumage, however, they are much alike, only the female is 

 far less richly glossed with purple and green on the black upper 

 parts, has the sides dirty drab instead of pure delicate grey, 

 and never displays the yellow patch under the sides of tail, 

 and the yellow streak along the head, which the male has 

 when in the height of breeding condition. At this time his 

 black comb is a couple of inches high, but shrinks down to less 

 than half in the off-season ; the female never has one, nor the 

 young male, till he gets his full colour. In immature plumage 

 the birds are brown, not black, but at all stages the combination 

 of white belly with dark under-surface of wings is distinctive 

 of the nukta among our large ducks. 



The amount of black speckling on the white head varies 

 a great deal individually; the whitest-headed bird I ever saw 

 was a young male, and he had black on the flanks instead of 



