272 BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH. 



Order X. ANSEEES. 

 Family ANATID^E. 



Subfamily ANSEKIN.E. 

 Genus NETTAPUS, Brandt. 



635. NETTAPUS COEOMANDELIANUS. 



THE COTTON TEAL GOOSE. 



Anas coromandeliana, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 522. Nettapus coromandelianus, 

 Jerd. B. Ind. ii. p. 786 j Anders. Ibis, 1874, p. 222 ; Bl. B. Burm. p. 165 ; David 

 et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 501 ; Hume $ Dav. S. F. vi. p. 486 ; Oates, S. F. vii. p. 52 ; 

 Cripps, 8. F. vii. p. 311 ; Hume, 8. F. vii. p. 491 ; id. 8. F. viii. p. 114 ; 

 Legge, Birds Ceylon, p. 1066 ; Bingham, S. F. ix. p. 198 ; Hume $ Marsh. Game 

 Birds, iii. p. 101, pi. ; Oates, S. F. x. p. 245 ; Kelham, Ibis, 1882, p. 198. Net- 

 tapus coromandelicus (L.), Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 638. Nettapus 

 coroxnandus (.), Hume, S. F. iii. p. 192. 



Description. Male in summer. Forehead,, crown and nape hair-brown, 

 the former darkest ; remainder of the head, the whole neck and lower 

 plumage pure white ; a broad collar round the neck black in front, glossy 

 green behind; the white of the breast produced round the neck and 

 forming another collar below the black one; under tail-coverts dark brown 

 mottled with white ; back, scapulars, rump, tertiaries and wing-coverts deep 

 glossy green or purple; secondaries glossy green, broadly tipped with 

 white ; primaries dark brown on the basal halves, then white with the tips 

 black ; upper tail-coverts white, freckled with brown ; tail brown ; sides of 

 body vermiculated with brown ; under wing-coverts greenish black. 



Female at all seasons. Forehead and a supercilium dirty white; crown 

 and nape dark brown; lores and a line through the eyes blackish; re- 

 mainder of the head, the whole neck and the upper breast dull white 

 mottled with brown, the marks on the breast and hind neck becoming 

 well-defined wavy lines ; the lower plumage dull white, streaked and in- 

 distinctly barred with brown; the whole upper plumage, wings and tail 

 brown, the secondaries tipped with white and the inner primaries also 

 more narrowly tipped with white ; upper tail-coverts white, freckled with 

 brown ; under wing-coverts brown, each feather margined with white. 



The male in winter is very similar to the female, but always retains the 

 conspicuous white patch on the primaries. 



The young are similar to the female till the first spring. 



In the male the bill in summer is black ; the iris bright red ; legs, toes 



