ON A NEW SPECIES OF GREY DUCK. 559 



The characters by which the Indian, Burmese and Chinese Grey 

 Ducks can be recognised may be briefly summarised thus : — 



P. poecilarhyncha, the Indian species, has two large orange patches 

 at the base of the upper mandible ; the whole lower plumage marked 

 with distinct round spots ; the speculum almost invariably of a metallic 

 green ; a double band of black and white above and below the specu- 

 lum ; the outer web of the two long secondaries next the speculum 

 entirely white. 



P. haringtoni, the Burmese species, differs in no respect from the 

 Indian species, except that it entirely wants the orange patches on the 

 base of the upper mandible, and has a shorter bill. 



P. zonorhyncha, the Chinese species, also wants the orange patches 

 at the base of the upper mandible ; the whole lower plumage is brown, 

 each feather with a paler margin, and there is not a trace of spots ; the 

 speculum is almost invariably of a metallic blue ; the white portion of 

 the double band above and below the speculum is very narrow and 

 sometimes almost absent ; the outer web of the two long secondaries 

 next the speculum are mostly black, the white being of small extent 

 and confined to the outer margin of the web. 



It may not be unnecessary to point out that all these three species 

 have a large portion of the tip of the bill of an orange colour. The 

 term " Spot-bill" has been applied to the Grey Duck of India, not on 

 account of this orange tip, but because of the orange patches at the 

 base of the upper mandible . Consequently, the term " Spot-bill" should 

 not be applied to the Burmese species, as is often done by sportsmen 

 in Burma. 



