Q4 WATER FOWL OF INDIA AND ASIA. 
putting them under hens—showing that Ducks were 
about as much domesticated then as Pheasants are 
now ; a fact which makes their general loss of the 
power of flying, while this has been retained by the 
Goose, particularly interesting. The Mallard is, in- 
deed, one of the easiest of all birds to tame and breed ; 
it also crosses very freely with. other Ducks, and 
stamps its impress on the hybrid in a very noticeable 
way, as far as coloration is concerned. Those who 
require a large Duck for the table out here should not 
try to introduce the heavy European breeds, which are 
unsuited to the country, but cross the country Ducks 
with the Muscovy, by which means a large Duck is 
produced, weighing over six pounds, and of excellent 
flavour. It is of course barren,. but there is no 
difficulty in making the cross as often as required. 
The wild Mallard is one of the best of all Ducks for the 
table, though remarkably omnivorous in its habits ; it 
is usually found in small or large flocks. The male 
has a bony drum in the windpipe, and any one who 
has noticed poultry must have observed the difference 
in the voice of the sexes, the drake’s hoarse faint 
quack sounding as if he hada very bad cold. The 
Mallard breeds in Kashmir in May and the first half of 
June, laying six to a dozen greenish white eggs in a 
nest of grass, &c., on the ground. In England it not 
unfrequently builds in trees, the young ones being 
allowed to fall and take their chance. 
The Spotted-bill. 
Anas pecilorhyncha, BLANFORD, Faun. Brit. Ind., 
Birds, Vol. IV, p. 436. 
VERNACULAR NAMES :—Garm-pat, Garmpar, Baia, 
Gugral, H.; Hunjur, Sind; Naddun, Nepal 
Terai; Kara, Manipur; Tau-bay, Burmese. 
In the Spotted-bill the male and female are alike, and 
