INDIAN DUCKS AND THEIR ALLIES. 173 



Female. — Like the male, but smaller and duller ; head and neck more 

 spotted with black, but the black less glossy in character and the gloss 

 on the upper parts also is much less developed. Lower back, rump 

 and upper-tail coverts all grey. 



Young. — Like the female, but still more spotted about the head 

 with a dull blackish-brown ; .the black of the back and wings, also, is 

 replaced by brown and is without gloss. 



Nestling. — " Upper parts 'greyish -brown ; under parts greyish-white, 

 upper part of the head brown ; a whitish frontal band runs on each 

 side of the head over the eyes, a white crescentic band bounds behind 

 the brown colour of the upper part of the head ; a narrow brown band 

 starts from the ear-coverts and reaches a brown band on the hind 

 neck ; two white patches on the side of the back at the base of the 

 wings, and two others on the sides of the rump ; posterior edge of the 

 wing whitish " (Salvadori). 



"'I he young are dull earthy-brown above and dirty white below" 

 (Hume). 



Iris dark brown, that of the young said to be even darker ; bill and 

 comb black j legs and feet plumbeous. The female and young have 

 no comb. 



Dimensions : Male. — Length, 28*5" (Hume) to 34" (Jerdon) j wing, 

 13'37" (Hume) to 16" (Jerdon) ; tail, 5*25" to 6" ; bill from gape, 2*5" 

 to 2-75" ; at front, 2'5" (Jerdon) ; comb, 2" to 2*5' ' in the breeding 

 season only ; tarsus, 2*62" (Hume) to 3" (Salvadori). 



Female.— Length about 25" to 27" ; wing, 11" to 11 -5" (Salvadori) ; 

 12" to 14" (Jerdon). 



The Nukhta is found throughout the Indian continent, though absent 

 here and there where the country is unsuitable, but is certainly more 

 abundant towards the west than in the east. 



Hume says : " I do not know of its occurrence in the Punjaub, Trans- 

 Sutlej or in Scind, except as a mere straggler to the easternmost 

 portions. I have no record of its appearance in Sylhet, Cachar, 

 Tipperah, Chittagong, or Arakan." Again, in another place, he adds, 

 when enumerating the places Avhere it is to be found " (excluding 

 perhaps, the Sunderbuns, Jessore, and one or two others of the deltaic 

 districts)." Of these places several have now to be erased from the 

 list of localities not inhabited by this bird. In the Punjaub, as far as 



