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  NOTES 
  ON 
  THE 
  INDIAN 
  ANATID.E. 
  

   By 
  Gordon 
  Dalgliesh. 
  

  

  India 
  is 
  a 
  country 
  that 
  is 
  particularly 
  rich 
  in 
  Ducks. 
  By 
  

   Ducks, 
  I 
  mean 
  true 
  Ducks, 
  not 
  including 
  the 
  Swans 
  and 
  Geese. 
  

   These 
  I 
  shall 
  not 
  deal 
  with 
  in 
  this 
  paper. 
  

  

  Everybody 
  ought 
  to 
  know 
  a 
  Duck 
  when 
  they 
  see 
  one, 
  but 
  I 
  

   am 
  sorry 
  to 
  say 
  some 
  people 
  do 
  not, 
  and 
  when 
  I 
  was 
  in 
  India 
  I 
  

   have 
  had 
  Moorhens 
  and 
  Cormorants 
  pointed 
  out 
  to 
  me 
  as 
  

   " 
  Ducks" 
  ; 
  and 
  one 
  of 
  my 
  friends 
  once 
  shot 
  and 
  ate 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   latter, 
  thinking 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  Duck. 
  

  

  As 
  Mr. 
  Finn 
  remarks 
  in 
  his 
  book, 
  ' 
  How 
  to 
  know 
  the 
  Indian 
  

   Ducks,' 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  years 
  have 
  been 
  remarkable 
  for 
  an 
  in- 
  

   vasion 
  of 
  India 
  by 
  East-Asiatic 
  waterfowl, 
  and 
  some 
  species 
  

   that 
  were 
  once 
  considered 
  very 
  rare 
  or 
  unknown 
  in 
  India 
  have 
  

   been 
  taken 
  in 
  some 
  numbers. 
  Thus 
  we 
  have 
  the 
  Green-headed 
  

   Pochard 
  (Nyroca 
  baeri), 
  which 
  was 
  until 
  quite 
  recently 
  con- 
  

   founded 
  with 
  another 
  species, 
  the 
  Common 
  White-eyed 
  Pochard 
  

   {N. 
  nyroca), 
  which 
  is 
  now 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  quite 
  a 
  common 
  Duck 
  in 
  

   the 
  neighbourhood 
  of 
  Calcutta 
  during 
  the 
  cold 
  weather. 
  The 
  

   Falcated 
  Duck, 
  or 
  Bronze-capped 
  Teal 
  (Eunetta 
  falcata), 
  was 
  

   once 
  considered 
  a 
  great 
  rarity, 
  and, 
  though 
  now 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  

   common, 
  appears 
  occasionally 
  in 
  some 
  numbers. 
  My 
  friend 
  Mr. 
  

   C. 
  M. 
  Inglis 
  obtained 
  no 
  fewer 
  than 
  seven 
  in 
  Darbhanga 
  during 
  

   the 
  cold 
  weather 
  of 
  1900-01, 
  and 
  Mr. 
  Mackenzie, 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  

   season, 
  procured 
  four 
  specimens 
  from 
  Chupra, 
  and 
  seven 
  were 
  

   seen 
  in 
  the 
  Calcutta 
  market 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Finn. 
  Previous 
  to 
  this 
  

   very 
  few 
  had 
  been 
  obtained. 
  The 
  female 
  of 
  this 
  Duck 
  closely 
  

   resembles 
  the 
  female 
  of 
  the 
  Gadwall 
  {Chaulelasmus 
  streperus), 
  

   and 
  may 
  often 
  be 
  overlooked 
  on 
  this 
  account. 
  The 
  Clucking 
  

   Teal 
  (Xettium 
  formosum) 
  is 
  another 
  very 
  rare 
  species, 
  which 
  

   belongs 
  really 
  to 
  Eastern 
  Siberia, 
  China, 
  and 
  Japan, 
  and 
  its 
  

   visits 
  to 
  India 
  are 
  few 
  and 
  far 
  between. 
  The 
  first 
  recorded 
  

   Indian 
  specimen 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  female 
  procured 
  by 
  Blyth 
  in 
  

  

  