110 1NJ»IAN DUCKb. 



Young birds at the age when they arrive in India are duller coloured tlu\n 

 the adults, have the hills a dull brick-red, and the feet livid fleshy. 



Young birds of the year " in August have the bill llesh-coloured, the head 

 and neck brown, chin and front of the neck white ; interscapulars brown ; wing- 

 coverts white ; inner secondaries white, edged with chestnut ; jn*imaries black ; 

 speculum becoming green ; all the under surface white ; legs flesh-colour." 

 (Yorn'U.) 



Nestlings in down " are dark brown above and white below, the white on the 

 underparts extending to the forehead, sides of the head and neck, wings, 

 scapulary region, and sides of the rump." {Seehohm.) 



Durinu- flic sunniior the Jiahitat of tliis bird oxtciuls from tlio British 

 Isles throuo'liout the wlioh= of Xortheni Europe as far south as Central 

 Gerniany and the south of the Caspian Sea in Uu>sia, South Siberia, 

 Turkestan, Northern China, and .Ta})an. ]n the winter it ranoes .south to 

 Northern Africa, South Asia as far as NortlK'rn India. South ( "hina, 

 Japan, and Formosa. 



Tn India it is eonfined entirely to the noi'thern portion, and cNcn there 

 it is hy no means a common visitant, though it is connnon in AfVlianistan 

 and not rare in Baluchistan. Hume gives its southern limits as the 22\u\ 

 parallel, and it extends as a i-are visitant through Sind, tlie Pimjal) and 

 the North- West Provinces, and Ondh. 



From Central India it lias heen recorded by Young, wlio saw tln-eo 

 specimens on a tank about 40 miles south of Nemuch in lb'.U-92. 

 Betham records it from Poona. In Bengal its occurrence is rare; it has 

 been obtained once or twice near Calcutta, and ^Ir. Fiiui wi-ites to me : 

 "As to the occurrence of the Sheldrake in the Calcutta ba/aar. I have seen 

 or got it several times since I came out liere in 1894, and only to-day two 

 dead immature birds were brought me. I have seen at least one more this 

 winter from up country. ^^ Only recently Kaslnnir has Ijeeii added to its 

 habitat, a pair having been twice met with in that locality. This extremely 

 handsome and conspicuous l)ird, although one would think so little likely 

 to be overlooked, and having a wide possible range through Northern 

 India, is yet but seldom met with, and is never, or hardly ever, seen for 

 any length of rime in one loealitv. This, as Hume (>xplains, is probably 

 due to the fact that their natural liabitat is not fresh water, but the sea- 

 shore, and the sea-s]u)re where it is clean. Most of our sliore is not clean, 

 and xcry little of it is visited and well known, so tliat ev<'n the few birds 

 which do hannt it may well esca]ie observation. The rest who make up 

 their minds on India for a winter liabitat are compelled, to resort to the 



