116 Mr. Hugh Whistler on the 



Anser indicus. The Barred-headed Goose. 



A common winter visitor, noted as late as Mai'ch 22. I 

 was unable to observe the respective dates of arrival of the 

 two kinds of Geese owing to difficulty of identifying the 

 species without obtaining specimens, but I saw and heard 

 Geese from the 9th of November onwards. 



Casarca rutila. The Ruddy Sheldrake. 



A very abundant w'inter visitor to the district, where I 

 first noted it on the 28th of October. On the stretches of the 

 river above Jhelura in January and February it was extra- 

 ordinarily abundant, being met with in large flocks of 20 

 or 30 birds. On one occasion as many as 75 were counted 

 on a single sand-bank. The majority of these birds, however, 

 had gone by the middle of March, although a few were to 

 be met with in April, a party of seven or eight being seen as 

 late as the 22nd of that month. 



Note. — The nuiuber of ducks which visit the district 

 during the cold, weather is very large, although, as far as I 

 know, no species actually breeds within the district. As, 

 when there are so many varieties to be expected and the 

 area over which they are spread is so great, it is impossible 

 to identify half the individuals seen, I failed in the short 

 space of one year to work out the exact status and dates of 

 arrival of each species. Accordingly, before giving a list of 

 the species actually identified by me (which does not pretend 

 to be complete), I give a short general note on the dates of 

 arrival and departure of ducks generally. 



After the spring migration had passed, four ducks, appa- 

 rently some species of Pochard, were seen from the train on 

 May 23, Juue 11 and 24, on a small pond in the ravine- 

 broken ground between Dina and Domelli Railway Stations. 

 It is possible, but not probable, that these birds were 

 breeding there, but I was unable to visit the spot to 

 investigate the matter. Two ducks the size of Mallard were 

 seen on the river on June 24. 



In August the return migration started by the noting 



