522 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 
shot at Pelol, eight miles north of this, in 1881. I have 
never met with the Bittern here before or since. Our first 
ducks last year were pintails: I shot a great number in 
October, and then not one till February (late), which looks as 
if they went early south of this. Our commonest duck are 
the Grey-winged Teal, the Mallard, Common Teal, and occasion- 
ally Widgeon, besides many Whistling Teal and Cotton Teal. 
The Cotton and some of the Whistling Teal stay all the year. 
There are a few Brahminys, but they keep more to the rivers. 
H. LITTLEDALE. 
BaRopDA, 6th April, 1884. 
SIR, 
THE following notes may be of some interest to you. 
The Sarus Crane has been seen in the Tanna Collectorate 
by Mr. T. D. Mackenzie, the Collector. He saw four, two old 
and two young, birds ona tank at Tembhi in the Dahanu 
taluka on March 4th, 1883. He got within 25 yards of them. 
He also in the month of January, 1883, when acting as Collec- 
tor of Salt, saw Sarus cn two occasions in the Tanna district 
contiguous to the Daman territory, As Mr. Mackenzie has 
served for several years in Guzerat, he knows a Sarus, to use 
his own expression, as wellas he knows a Snipe. Ishota 
brace of Spotted Crake at Joo near Panwell on the other 
side of the Bombay Harbour on 2nd December, 1883. On 
January 13th, 1884, I shot a female Scaup Duckon a small 
tank on the roadside about a mile from Panwell, close to the 
-18th milestone from Tanna. It was alone with a lot of Coots. 
I had some difficulty in getting it, as whenever I went to one 
side of the tank it swam to the other with the Coots. I fired 
along shot at it when it dived and remained under water 
some time. On my firing at it again, it took wing, avery 
slow and laboured flight, when I got it with the second barrel. 
I showed the skin to Col. Swinhoe, who pronounces it to be 
a Scaup. I have sent you the skin by parcel post in order 
that you may identify it. Idon’t want the skin back again. 
It had a yellow eye. I fancy this is the first record of a Scaup 
so far south. 
Iobserve that you say in the “ Game Birds of India” that 
you have never seenthe Gadwall on the sea coast, and that 
they are essentially a fresh-water bird. Ihave frequently 
seen them in the Salt Creeks on the other side of the Bombay 
Harbour, and I shot one out of a very large flock in a salt water 
creek close to the tank, where I got the Scaup on the same 
day. 
I don’t think the Tufted Pochard can be said to be fairly 
common in Guzerat as stated in the “ Game Birds of India.” I 
