578 JO URN A L, BOMB A Y NA TUBAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XL 



rare. In 1892 Messrs. Pearson recorded it from Iceland in the Ibis 

 for 1895, p. 247, and the same year it was recorded as having been seen 

 in 1892 even further North than this, viz., in the Upernivik district of 

 Western Greenland by Dr. Van Hoffen, who was naturalist to the Dry- 

 galshi Expedition of 1892-93. 



In winter it resorts to the plains of India, Northern Burma, South 

 China, and Japan and Formosa. In India the only places from which it 

 has not been recorded are such as do not afford sufficient water, and 

 they are practically unknown in the waterless tracts of portions of Scind 

 and Rajputana. From as far south as Ceylon they are noted as not 

 uncommon. Legge in the Appendix to the " Birds of Ceylon " says : 

 " This Sheldrake can no longer be relegated to the doubtful or unpro- 

 cured species in the Ceylon lists. Mr. G. Simpson of the Indian Tele- 

 graph Department has lately sent a portion of the skin of a male, shot 

 by him in the Jaffna district, to Mr. Parker for identification. He 

 likewise furnishes a description of the bird, which has been forwarded to 

 me, and there is no doubt about the matter. The wing of the example 

 in question measures 14/75 inches. Mr. Simpson says they are not un- 

 common in the cool season in the Jaffna Lake, near Pooneryn, and on 

 the Delft, Palverainkadoo and Mullaittiru lagoons. They are, he finds, 

 very wary, flying high when disturbed and uttering a note like 

 " conk, conk." 



To Southern Burma it is a very rare straggler and I can find none 

 but anonymous records of its occurrence there. 



Oates observes (in loc. cit.) : " The Brahmin y Duck is a visitor to the 

 province from October to March. It is very abundant in the large 

 rivers of Pegu ; but Mr. Davison did not observe it in Tenasserim. It 

 is probably common in Arrakan, whence Mr. Blyth received it." 



Like Mr. Inglis I have found the Ruddy Sheldrake a rare bird in 

 Cachar and not common in East Sylhet, where the rivers are too muddy, 

 and are wanting in suitable sandy banks and churs. In South and 

 West Sylhet they are much more common, for there the rivers 

 begin to widen out into fine clear streams. 



In Orissa it is not uncommon to find this bird on the salt backwaters 

 and pools, and even on the shore itself. It is very common on the 

 Chilka lake, and I have seen it on the brackish, tidal waters of the 

 Sunder bans. 



