MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. l&l 



I cannot clearly recall the markings, except that there was a good deal' of 

 white about the body and breast. Mr. Campbell says that he particularly 

 noticed the white face. The crown was dark, and so were the wings. The 

 bird was very little longer, if any, than a common teal, but much bigger, and 

 presented a " stumpy " appearance, very ugly and ungainly. The wings were 

 hardly more than six inches in length. The birds were shot in deep water 

 in a nullah which they refused to leave after being put up, and after a short 

 swift flight they settled again. 



I have shot a good many duck during the last six years, and am familiar 

 with most of the species which visit the. North- West Provinces. 



H. J. SHERWOOD, Cact., R.E. 



Bookkee, N.-W. P., January, 1897. 



[There appears to be little doubt that the bird described in the above note was the White 

 faced stiff-tailed duck, and its occurrence near Roorkee is well worthy of record. We hava 

 in our collection the h^ad of one shot at Sialkote by Lieut. C. R. Bushe in February, 1891.— 

 $DI,TOH.] 



No. VI— CROCODILES, 



Existing reptiles are divided by modern naturalists into four orders of 

 which crocodiles and alligators belong to the order Emydosauria of De 

 Blainville. The greatest confusion still exists even amongst educated men 

 as to the difference between the crocodile and the alligator and also as to 

 their geographical distribution. In India there are no alligators, yet Euro- 

 peans, as a rule, call by that name all the crocodiles there, of which there 

 are two genera and three species. Even in Government returns these destruc- 

 tive reptiles are called by one or other name indifferently, and often both 

 names will be found in the same document. 



It may be. as well to start with a, good sweeping statement, which, so far 

 a.s present knowledge goes, may be taken as correct. It is this : except in 

 China, where, in 1869, an alligator {A. sinensis) was discovered, or rather 

 discriminated, there are no alligators either in Asia, Africa,, or Australia. 



The differences may be described a.s follows :— -In the first place, the hori- 

 zontal contour of the head of the crocodile represents an isosceles triangle 

 but in no case is the muzzle wider than that of the alligator. Secondly, the 

 crocodiles have a deep notch on each side of the upper jaw, into which the 

 fourth lower tooth fits, whereas in the alligator the corresponding tooth fits 

 into a sulcus or pit. Thirdly, as a rule, the digits of the hind feet of the 

 crocodile are webbed to the nails, and there is a denticulated crest of flattened 

 scales on the inside of the hind leg ; whilst in the alligator the web between 

 the toes is rudimentary, and the dentionated crest is absent. There are 

 exceptions to the latter difference in two of the crocodiles, of which one is 

 C. rhombifer from Cuba, which has not the fringed leg, nor are the hind toes 

 webbed ; but I have not been able to trace the second species. Crocodiles 



