DUCKS 210$ 



American species (S. carunculatus) , are large and somewhat goose- 

 Comb Duck i^e bj r( j s w ith short and high beaks, and characterized by the pres- 



ence of a blunt spur on the wing, a fleshy protuberance at the base of 

 the beak of the male, and the glossy-blackish plumage of the beak, the 

 wings being brightly marked like those of ducks. Although the two sexes are very 

 similar, the males are much larger than the females. The Indian species measures 

 from thirty to thirty-four inches in length. In habits it approaches the tree ducks, 

 frequently perching on trees, and generally nesting in holes in their trunks. 



The Indian cotton teal {Nettapus coromandelianus} is a member of the genus 

 also having one African and two Australian representatives, and somewhat resem- 

 bles a miniature of the comb duck, although lacking the comb and spur, and also 

 differing by the more sombre coloration of the female. The beak, moreover, is still 

 shorter and higher at the base, and the tail differs from that of all the true ducks in 

 having but twelve feathers. The Indian species, which associates in large flocks, 

 measures thirteen or fourteen inches in length. 



There being no representatives of the group in Britain, the idea of 

 Tree Ducks or ducks habitually perching in trees may seem to many persons some- 



mg what unnatural, yet this is the normal habit of the tree ducks, or, as 

 Teal 



they are generally called in India, whistling teal. Although approach- 



ing the more typical ducks in the form of the beak, which is somewhat depressed 

 at the end, this genus {Dendrocygna) may be distinguished from them by the front 

 of the metatarsus being reticulate, in which respect they resemble the geese. The 

 lores are feathered, the legs rather long, with the lower portion of the tibia bare; 

 the wings are short and rounded, and the abbreviated tail is almost concealed by 

 the coverts. The sexes are nearly alike, and although in some species there is a 

 bright patch or speculum on the wing, in coloration these birds approach the Egyp- 

 tian goose and ruddy sheldrake, to both of which they may be allied. In their 

 voice, as well as in the plumage undergoing but one molt, and likewise in the 

 vegetable nature of their food, these birds again approach the geese, and differ from 

 the ducks. Tree ducks are distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical 

 regions of the world, and it is highly remarkable that one species (D. viduata) 

 is common to South America and West Africa. The general color of the plumage 

 of these birds is some shade of brown or chestnut, with the back, wings, and tail 

 variously marked with darker brown and slaty, but in one of the American species 

 the abdomen is black, while in a second the under parts are dirty white. The 

 Indian D. javanica measures about twenty inches in length. The latter species 

 frequents well-wooded, well-watered, and well-drained districts throughout India; 

 being found during the breeding season in pairs, but in cold weather and spring 

 associating in flocks, which, according to Mr. Hume, may number from twenty to 

 two thousand head. Migratory in their habits, these birds, writes the last-named 

 observer, are very tame and familiar, ' ' frequenting village ponds, and living 

 on the trees surrounding such, even on trees growing inside the inclosures of 

 cottages. They are rather dull birds, slow on the wing and easily shot, and they 

 have a habit of circling round and round the gunner when one of their number 

 has been shot, that often proves fatal to the greater portion of the flock, when 



