iru.u's. Ill .t IV. 



PA HAS. 6, 7 A: 8.] lO 



abdomen in some (tlie males) is white, as is the wiug- 

 liniiii;- aud under tail-coverts, while the liead, throat 

 and vent, ronghly, are chesnut to dark-brown. You 

 can even see that the wing has a dusky all-round edging. 

 One is brought back to you aud you find a thick- 

 ydunuiged little bird with an eye (not yet glazed in 

 death) that has a conspicuous white iris. 



Tht' remarks in Chapter IX on the general difiference 

 in tliglit between the True Ducks aud the Pochards tell 

 you that this is a Pochard. His wings are short and 

 rounded. Key 1 suggests that it is the White-eyed Duck, 

 as iiuleed the white iris (see also Key) lias already made 

 you susi)ect. You will do well, though, to corroborate 

 before you jump to a conclusion. 



Run 3^our eye down the list of Keys in para. 14 

 and see which is likely to help you most. No. 4 and 6 

 in Chapters YI aud VIII respectively show you a bird 

 with the tell-tale colouring you are looking for. No. 5 

 in Chapter A^II tells you that the white Eyed Duck 

 is little bigger than a Teal. No. 10 in Chapter IX 

 sa3's he is one of the birds that show much white in 

 the wing. No. 8 says that his speed is respectable. 

 From No. 2 in Chapter V you will see that the Latin 

 specific name ferrvgivea is helpful; the prevailing 

 colour is a rusty red. Last of all, run your eye along 

 the details in Key No. 1, Chapter V. There you see 

 that the speculum is not distinctive and you find his 

 number in the Fauna of India, Birds, if you want to 

 see what a scientific book says about him. 



Tlie plates '^ ' "^'^^ plates illusitrating Key 6, Chapter VIII, 



illustrating "Colouration as Seen from Below,'' are, in order to give as 

 Key G. close a presentation of the details of the shades as possi- 



ble, reproduced from photographs of the dead bird. A 

 black and white presentation is, as remarked elsewhere, 

 probably as near as need be to what the human eye sees 

 at ranges much over forty yards. The scale throughout is 

 fairly accurate, as the photographs were all taken with 

 the object at an equal distance from the camera. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Birds Commonly Mistaken for Ducks. 



KifTpreiico ^- 'l'li<">"^' '<^^'^ some birds which are commonly mi.^taken 



ii tween the l)v the stranger, or the absolute beginner, for l)uck, such 



""^'''.'"V^ as the (.^oot.s tirebes and Cormorants, 

 some buds ' 



?,?iT.'!!?"l?' There is a famous sijot iu the Western Punjab wliere 



for iiiem. a great jhii. and its subsidiary waters are shot with due 



care, jiveparation and circumstance by a large ]»arty two 



or three times every year. A game-book is I opt in two 



