2 Manual of the Game Birds of India. 



be convenient to assign to them certain 

 characters, in order that the sections may 

 be properly defined : — 



Water Fowl (p. 13). — The front toes 

 joined together by a web ; the hind toe 

 lobed ; the margins of the bill furnished 

 with lamellae, or serrations, or saw-like 

 teeth. 



Snipes (p. 424). — Bill long and slender, 

 straight, or curved at the tip; the nasal 

 furrow extending nearly to the tip of the 

 upper mandible ; no trace of web between 

 the toes ; hind toe small and elevated 

 above the level of the front toes ; the 

 tarsus equal to or shorter than the middle 

 toe and claw. 



Of the forty-four species of Water Birds 

 included in my list, thirty-six are to be 

 found in Dr. Jerdon's work and forty- 

 three in that of Messrs. Hume and 

 Marshall. I have been able to add one 

 species, the Eastern White-eyed Pochard, 

 to the Indian list. The occurrence of 

 this Duck in India has been brought to 

 notice by Mr. F. Finn, and no doubt it 

 will prove to be a common bird in the 

 eastern portion of the Empire, where It 

 has hitherto been confounded with the 

 better-known western form. 



1 have omitted from my list three 



