24 INDIAN DL'CKS. 



Nestling.—" Uppor parts greyish-brown ; underparts greyisli-w liite ; upper 

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

 over the eyes ; a white erescentic band bounds behind the brown colour of the 

 upper part of the head : a narrow brown band starts from the ear-coverts^ and 

 readies n brown band on tlie liind-neck : two white patches on the side of the 

 back, at the l)asf' of the w ings, and two otliers on tlie sides of tlie rump : ])osterior 

 edge of the wing whitish." (Salvndori.) 



"The young are dull earthy brown above and dirty white below." {ITumf.) 



Iris dark brown, that of the young is said to be even darker : bill and comb 

 black, legs and feet plumbeous. 



The female and \ouiig have no comb. 



Dlmf-mtiooft. Male.— Length )>^\y {Iliin)f] Ui 'M inches (Jerdov); wing 13-37 

 (Hirnu) to 16 (Jerdon) ; tail 'r2:t to G : bill from gai)e 2-.'» to 2-7.'), at front 2-5 

 (Jerdon) ; comb 2 to 2-.') in the breeding-season only ; tarsus 2-62 (Hume) to 3 

 (Srdrfidori). 



Female. — Length about 25 to 27 inches, wing U to ll'."» {Srdvadorl), 12 to 

 14 (Jerdon). 



The Nnklita i- found Throughout the Indian eoiuinent. tliouoli al)>ent 

 here and there where the conntrv is unsuitable, hut is certiiinly more 

 abundant towards the we-t flian in tlie east. 



Hume sjiys : "I do not know of its occurrence in the Punjaub. Trans- 

 Sutlej. or in Scind. exce)»t as a mere straggler to tlie ea-ternmosf ])ortions. 

 J have no record of its ajtpearance in SvUiet. Cadiiii". Ti)>])ei'ali, C'liittagong. 

 ()!• Arakan.'^ Again, in another place, he add-, wlien enumei'ating the 

 places wJiere it is to be found (excluding jierliaps the Sunderi)uns, Jessore, 

 and one or two other of the deltaic disti-ict-) : " ( )f tliese places, soveral 

 have now to be ei'a^ed from tIm' li-t of localitic- not inliabitcd by tlii- bii-d." 

 In the Punjaub. as far as T can a>certain. it is undoubtedly a rare visitor : 

 still it is found there, and is not so rare as Hume deemed it to be. Of its 

 occurrence in tlie Trans-Sutlej. the following notes occur in 'Stray Feathers^ 

 fvol. X. no. 5. p. \'M)) : — 



'• Although it (tlie Coni])-Duck) certainly is nowhere common in this 

 region, I know of its having been shot on more than one occasion in the 

 Lahore district, and. again, further south in the Baree Doab. but only in 

 the rainy season, and always in the immediate Aicinity of the canaK. 



" I heard of a nest being taken as far >outli a- the Changa Manga 

 Plantation, but T am not sure of the fact. I have never heard or seen the 

 bird west of BareOj but tliroughout the canal-irrigated ])ortion of the Baree 

 Doab, the whole tract between the Beas and the Siitlcj. and the Baree. it 

 certainly does occur, though very sparingly, during the rainy season.*' 



After this note, which is by G. Trevor. Hume goes on to quote the 



