MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 333 



note as well as a low whistle. One day a party of 8 or 10, at which some 

 shots had been fired, after wheeling round and round overhead for some 

 time, pitched on a narrow channel, within 30 yards of me, as I stood 

 concealed in the bushes on the bank. I watched them for some minutes, 

 when another pair, frightened by some distant shots, came scurrying over ; 

 the birds on the water all twisted their heads up and set up a loud rapid 

 quacking call note which they kept up for some minutes ; the new-comers 

 circled round several times, but probably seeing the top of my topee , 

 concluded not to join their companions in their fancied security. The flight 

 of this teal is fairly fast : occasionally when they have been kept on the 

 Wing for some time a party will stoop down to the surface of a creek as 

 though they meant to pitch, and then change their minds and rise again. 

 "When executing this manoeuvre they rush past at a tremendous pace. The 

 broad white wing-bar, in this species, is most conspicuous when the bird 

 is on the wing. 



Winged birds promptly swim for the nearest cover, into which they scuttle 

 off at a great pace and are generally lost without a dog. One I shot swam 

 steadily along in front of a Pathan convict who was swimming after it, 

 in the capacity of a retriever, and though hard pressed made no attempt to 

 dive till it reached the bank, where it was caught. One of the officers 

 stationed here has a live bird in captivity which was pinioned by a shot some 

 months ago. It thrives well on paddy, but has not become very tame. It 

 spends most of the day asleep, with its head resting in the plumage of the 

 back. The local sportsmen have christened them " Gibberies." 



They are rather difficult birds to skin, being very fat, and having, for a 

 duck, rather a tender skin. They seem to average about 15 oz. in weight. 



A. L. BUTLER. 



Port Blair, July, 1897. 



No. XVIII.— OCCURRENCE OF THE GARGANY TEAL 

 IN INDIA DURING JULY. 



With reference to notes published in various papers this year referring to 

 the late stay of Wild Fowl, I shot a teal which I take to be a female of 

 Querquedula circia (Linn.), the " Gargany Teal," here, on the evening of the 

 24th instant. It was out of a lot of three, consisting of a male and two 

 females, and it was in good condition, but on dissection there were no signs that 

 the bird was breeding. This is, of course, an early teal to return to us, but 

 is not this an unusually early date ? At the same time I saw three or four 

 other duck, but in the distance. I was not, unfortunately, able to skin the 

 bird myself, so it has been fearfully mangled, but I am sending sufficient to 

 identify the bird. Please inform me if I am correct in my identification. 



R. H. RATTRAY, Major, 



JilELtfM, 27 th July, 1897. 22nd Punjab Infantry. 



