﻿448 
  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST. 
  

  

  Calcutta 
  in 
  1844 
  ; 
  Mr. 
  Barton 
  procured 
  a 
  male 
  in 
  Guzerat 
  in 
  

   1898 
  ; 
  Mr. 
  Barker 
  shot 
  another 
  at 
  Jaipur 
  in 
  1899, 
  and 
  Mr. 
  

   Mackenzie 
  another 
  male 
  in 
  the 
  Saruin 
  district 
  in 
  the 
  cold 
  

   weather 
  of 
  1898-99 
  ; 
  and 
  Mr. 
  Finn 
  a 
  female 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  

   in 
  Calcutta. 
  The 
  young 
  males 
  and 
  females 
  may 
  perhaps 
  be 
  

   overlooked, 
  and 
  thought 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  Common 
  Teal 
  (N. 
  crecca), 
  

   which 
  they 
  somewhat 
  resemble. 
  Another 
  thing 
  with 
  regard 
  to 
  

   rare 
  Ducks 
  is 
  that 
  so 
  few 
  sportsmen 
  are 
  naturalists, 
  and 
  if 
  one 
  

   did 
  happen 
  to 
  shoot 
  a 
  rare 
  bird 
  he 
  would 
  not 
  know 
  what 
  it 
  was, 
  

   and 
  it 
  would 
  go 
  the 
  way 
  of 
  all 
  other 
  fowl, 
  and 
  be 
  eaten. 
  

  

  The 
  beautiful 
  little 
  Mandarin 
  Duck 
  (Aex 
  galericulata) 
  was 
  

   recorded 
  from 
  India 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  time 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Stuart 
  Baker 
  

   (J. 
  Bomb. 
  N. 
  Hist. 
  Soc. 
  xiv. 
  p. 
  626 
  (1902)). 
  As 
  this 
  is 
  a 
  most 
  

   interesting 
  record, 
  I 
  shall 
  reproduce 
  his 
  note 
  in 
  full. 
  He 
  says 
  : 
  — 
  

   "To 
  Mr. 
  Stevens, 
  of 
  the 
  Bungagora 
  Tea 
  Estate, 
  in 
  Dibrugarh, 
  

   belongs 
  the 
  honour 
  of 
  obtaining 
  the 
  first 
  Indian 
  specimen 
  of 
  the 
  

   Mandarin 
  Duck. 
  The 
  bird, 
  an 
  extremely 
  fine 
  female, 
  was 
  one 
  

   of 
  a 
  party 
  of 
  six, 
  and 
  was 
  shot 
  in 
  a 
  small 
  backwater 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  

   estate. 
  Unfortunately 
  Mr. 
  Stevens, 
  not 
  knowing 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  

   what 
  he 
  had 
  shot, 
  made 
  no 
  attempt 
  to 
  get 
  further 
  specimens. 
  

   Mr. 
  J. 
  F. 
  Greening 
  and 
  I 
  saw 
  a 
  party 
  of 
  six 
  of 
  these 
  Ducks 
  in 
  

   July, 
  1901, 
  flying 
  across 
  the 
  Subansiri 
  River, 
  close 
  to 
  its 
  junction 
  

   with 
  the 
  Banganadi. 
  We 
  had 
  no 
  gun 
  out 
  at 
  the 
  time, 
  so 
  failed 
  

   to 
  get 
  any 
  specimens, 
  but 
  I 
  have 
  no 
  doubt 
  about 
  their 
  identity." 
  

   The 
  Mandarin 
  Duck 
  is 
  often 
  kept 
  in 
  captivity 
  in 
  India, 
  speci- 
  

   mens 
  being 
  imported 
  from 
  China 
  ; 
  so 
  it 
  is 
  quite 
  likely 
  those 
  

   recorded 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Baker 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  escapes, 
  as 
  it 
  seems 
  

   impossible 
  that 
  this 
  Duck 
  could 
  have 
  been 
  overlooked 
  by 
  the 
  

   numerous 
  Indian 
  ornithologists, 
  as 
  the 
  male 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  is 
  

   one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  conspicuous 
  and 
  beautiful 
  of 
  all 
  waterfowl. 
  

   This 
  Duck 
  is 
  resident 
  in 
  China 
  and 
  Japan. 
  

  

  The 
  Eastern 
  Spot-billed 
  Duck 
  (Polionetta 
  zonorliyncha) 
  is 
  

   another 
  species 
  lately 
  obtained 
  within 
  Indian 
  limits, 
  and 
  has 
  

   been 
  recorded 
  from 
  Kentung, 
  South 
  Shan 
  States, 
  and 
  Assam. 
  

   This 
  bird, 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  Common 
  Spot-bill 
  (P. 
  poecilo- 
  

   rhyncha), 
  has 
  been 
  classed 
  by 
  most 
  writers 
  on 
  Indian 
  ornithology 
  

   with 
  the 
  Mallard 
  under 
  the 
  genus 
  Anas, 
  and, 
  to 
  my 
  mind, 
  

   wrongly. 
  Though 
  agreeing 
  with 
  the 
  Mallard 
  in 
  some 
  respects, 
  

   they 
  differ 
  widely 
  in 
  others. 
  In 
  the 
  first 
  place, 
  in 
  the 
  true 
  

  

  