PABA. 16. J 



22f 



NOTES OX INDIVIDUAL SPECrES. 

 Spotbill. — Their liaunts seem to vary very iiuuli. 

 finys Stnnrt- Baker. Probably they prefer tanks, j/^^^s and 

 flnuill pieces of water which are well-covered with weeds, 

 and they seldom resort to large pieces of water. They 

 inhabit the smaller ^'fiits which are surrounded near 

 the margin with jungle, and liere they may be seen 

 all asleep, except one or two which are on sentry-duty 

 near the edge. In the District of Myraensingh however 

 they are found on the vast bhcpin whicli stretch for 

 miles in every direction and here also they breed in 

 o-reat numbers. They are also found, though I think 

 but rarely, on small (juickly-flowing streams in forest. 

 On the other hand, on some of the bigger rivers they are 

 not uncommon. 



MallaviU — Marshy places, ^ays MacGillivray, the 

 maroins of lakes, pools and rivers, as well as brooks, 

 rills and ditches, are its principal places of resort al all 

 seasons. 



Gudiiall. — You find them equally, snys Hume, in the 

 laroest rivers and the smallest liill streams, in huge lakes 

 and small ponds, in open water, as at the Sarabhar Lake, 

 where not a reed or rush is to be seen and in tangled 

 swamps where tlere is barely clear water enougli to float 



a walnut On rivers they are generally to be seen 



snoozino- on the bank during the day, and then they com- 

 monly leave these towards sunset for feeding grounds 

 inland. In broads they keep, if at all disturbed, well out 

 of gunshot towards the centre, sometimes in clear water, 

 more often skulking in low water-weeds ; but in unfre- 

 quented places tliey may, even during the daytime, be 

 found walking on the shore or paddling in the sliallows 

 round the edges of the tank, feeding busily with their 

 tail-ends bolt uprigVit and the rest of them hidden by the 

 water. 



Common Teal. — Where habitually shot at, they spend 

 the day on some large river or sheet of water and feed 

 chietiy at night in wet fields, swamps and tlie smaller j/<z75, 

 cliano-ing their quarters for this parpose about sursel:, and 

 there is no species more commonly bagged in flight- 

 shooting (Hume). Occurs on almost every piece of water, 

 wliether large or small, river, pond or marsh (Oates). 



Wiqeon. — In Upper India, says Hume, we habitually 

 meet them on good sized pieces of water, some portions 

 of tbe shores of which are smooth and turfy. They are 

 excessively rare on bare lakes like tlie Sambiiar. On small 

 ponds I have never once seen them. Nor have I, except 

 very rarely, seen them on our large rivers, but they are not 

 so uncommon in smaller rivers flowing through meadow- 

 like turfy flats. 



