MERGUs albp;llus 311 



darker. They also "show the two dark cresceufcio bauds on the breast." 

 (Salcadoi i.) 



" Males in the first nuptial dress have brown streaks on the hind-neck 

 and scapulars." (Seebohm.) 



The Young' resemble the adult female, but have no dark defined loreal 

 patch, and the crest is darker and rather duller. The white wing-patch 

 is suffused with brown, more or less, and the breast is more spotted. 



Young in Down. — " Upper parts, including the sides of the head below 

 the eye, but only the back of the neck, dark-brown ; below the eye a 

 very small white spot ; white spots on the posterior edge of the wing, 

 on the sides of the back, just near the joint of the wing, the sides of 

 the rump, and on the flanks ; throat and sides of the upper part of the 

 neck conspicuously white ; crop region dusky; flanks brown: breast and 

 abdomen white." iSalvadori.) 



Distribution. — The habitat of the Smew dining the summer and 

 breeding-season is practically the Palaearctic Region throughout 

 Europe and Asia, whence it descends south into Southern European 

 countries, the basin of the ^lediterranean, Northern India and 

 adjoining countries, China and Japan ; and very rarely, also, it has 

 been recorded from North America. 



As regards its occurrence in India, Blanford writes : — 



" Within our limits the Smew is fairly common in winter in 

 the Punjab, and is found in Sind, Northern Guzerat, the North- 

 west Provinces, and Oudh. Jerdou records it from Cuttack, and 

 I met with it more than once near Eanijauj in Bengal, but it has 

 not been observed farther east nor in Southern India." 



To this I can add that I think that once in 1882 I saw a flock 

 of these birds, five of them, near Hazaribagh in Chota Nagpur. 

 It is very unlikely that I could have made a mistake in my 

 identification, and I have no doubt, myself, about what they were ; 

 still, I failed to shoot one, so that record is not a perfect one. 



In the rivers of Assam, where I expected to find this bird 

 comparatively common in the cold weather, I have seen only two 

 flocks — one of four birds in Kanganadi, in Lakhimpur, and one 

 of six birds in the extreme north-eastern reaches of the Brahma- 

 pootra. I have also had one other notification of its occurrence 

 from the same place; and Mr. J. Needham, for many years Political 

 Officer in Sadiya, told me he had occasionally met with it, but that 

 he had never obtained a shot. 



