5S INDIAN DUCKS 



Description. Adult Male.— Extreme point of forehead white, remainder 

 and crown brown, the lateral edjjes nuich darker, almost black ; a complete 

 broad collar round the l^ase of the neck black, a little glossed with j^reen ; 

 remainder of liead, neck, lower plumage, and a collar behinil the ijlack 

 collar white ; flanks most minutely stippled, and more or less barred, with 

 light-brown, sometimes almost absent ; under tail-coverts broadly barred 

 and tipped or subtipped brown: scapulars and back dark-ljrowD, completely 

 overlaid witli dark-green gloss slightly mi.xed with purple ; upjier tail-coverts 

 dirty white, freckled with brown. Innermost secondaries brown glossed 

 with purple, remaining secondaries glossed green and tipped with white; 

 primaries glossy-green tipped brown, and witli a broad white band con- 

 tinuing tiie bar made by the white tips of the secondaries ; tail brown. 



Colours of soft parts.— Bill, legs, and feet black, the two latter more or 

 less tinged with slaty-yellow ; irides bright crimson-red. 



" Sides of tarsus and toes dusky yellow ; claw s horny-brown." 



(Gales.) 



Measurements.— Length VI5 to 13'5 inches, wing 6 to 7 (rareh' over 

 6'6 or under (i'3), tail about 3, culmen aijout '9 to '95, tarsus 1. Weight 

 between 9 and 12 ozs. 



Female. — Cap as in the male, but uniform Ijrown ; forehead more 

 broadly speckled with Ijrown ; a deep brown line running tlu'ough eye: 

 remainder of iiead and low^er plumage white, the breast and lower neck 

 with narrow liars of dark-brown, taking the place of the collar in the male ; 

 face and neck much vermiculatod with brown, and the flanks both barred 

 and speckled with the same. In old females the abdomen and centre of the 

 breast are pure white, in younger birds more or less marked with brown ; 

 outer secondaries broadly and inner primaries ^•ery narrowly tipped with 

 white; remainder of the wings, upper plumage, and tail brown, the scapulars 

 and back being occasionally faintly glossed, upper tail-coverts finely 

 stippled with white. 



Colours of soft parts.— Bill brown or dark-olive, paler and \ellowish on 

 mandible, commissure, and gape. Iris red-brown ; legs and feet dull 

 slate-yellow, more or less smudged with blackish-green ; claws light yellow- 

 brown. 



Measurements.— Length about 12 inches, wing G or a trifle over, tail 

 about 2'75, culmen about '9, tarsus nearly 1. 



Male in Winter.—" Similar to the female, liut always retains the con- 

 spicuous white patch on the itrimaries." [Salcuilori.) 



Does this little duck always assume a winter plumage when fully 

 adult ':' I doubt it, for I have males shot in early winter just as glossy and 

 fuUy-plumaged as any to be obtained during the breeding-season and hot 

 weather. 



Young'. — Like the female, but even more striped about the bead with 

 brown, and also more banded with light-brown on the flanks. 



Young in Down.—" Upper parts, flanks, and under tail-coverts blackish- 



