CASARCA FERRUGINEA 147 



notes, which are rendered by the natives into " Chakwi, shall I 

 come?" "No, Chakwa ! " and then '" Chakwa, shall 1 come?" 

 with the reply, " No. Chakwi 1 " 



The Hindustani words for these questions and answers are not 

 at all unlike their notes, which are loud and resonant, far more goose- 

 than duck-like in their character. Elliott, Pallas, Jerdon, &c., 

 syllabise it as •■'i-oung, others as conk, conk ; perhaps a combination 

 of these two into a-onk, gives as good an idea of the note as any 

 other accumulation of letters. 



They are good swimmers as well as quick and agile divers, but do 

 not seem to be able to keep under water long, nor do they appear to 

 ever attempt to conceal themselves under water. On the wing they 

 are decidedl\ strong, but are noisy risers, though not slow ones. The 

 movements of their wings are less rapid than in the majority of the 

 A)iatirlfp,a.nd give one the im|n'ession that their progress is far slower 

 than it really is. They are good walkers, and though generally their 

 movements are marked more by dignity and deliberation than haste, 

 they are capable of very good performances as pedestrians. Their 

 attitudes on land are more those of geese than of ducks. 



They are not at all shy birds, nor are they at all wild in the 

 ordinary acceptation of the word. They object to anyone coming 

 within shot, but when outside that distance seem to have nothing to 

 say against being watched and remarked upon. I was introduced 

 to Chakwa and Chakwi in the Santhal Parganas a very short time 

 after I came to India. At the time I was engaged in camping across 

 the district, and, generally riding ahead of my belongings, would 

 arrive at the next camping-ground some hours before they came uj). 

 One of these grounds was on, or close to, the sandy bank of a river, 

 and of course the interval between arrival and breakfast was filled 

 up by strolling about. 



Two P>rahminy Ducks soon attracted my attention, and though 

 I was within about one hundred and fifty yards they took no notice 

 of me, but stood on one leg basking in the sun, and now and then 

 uttering a single low conk, not a note of alarm, but one which 

 seemed to me, at the time, to be of overweening pride and misplaced 

 confidence. Later on, I found out where these qualities should have 

 been looked for, I strolled back to camp, the birds still ejecting 



