INDIAN SPOT-BILL 
PCECILORHYNCHA Forster 
(Plate 24) 
Synonymy 
Anas poedlarhyncha Forster in Pennant’s Indian Zoology, p. 23, pi. 13, fig. 1, 1781. 
Anas poekilorhyncha Gmelin, Linne’s Systema Naturae, ed. 13, vol. 1, pt. 2, p. 535, 
1788. 
Mareca poecilorkyncha Stephens, General Zool., vol. 12, pt. 2, p. 134, 1824. 
Vernacular Names 
English: Spot-billed Duck, Spotted-billed Duck, Gray Duck, Indian Spot-bill. 
French: Canard a bee tachete. Canard a bee de lait. 
German: Fleckschnabel Ente, Buntschnabel Ente. 
Hindu: Garam-pai, Bata, Gugral. 
Sind: Hunjar. 
Nepal: Naddun. 
Manipur: Kara. 
Burmese: Vume-be, Tau-bay. 
DESCRIPTION 
Adult Male : Top of the head and a broad orbital stripe dark brown. A narrow superciliary stripe, 
sides of the head, chin, throat, and neck, cream-color to pale buff, minutely streaked on the cheeks 
with blackish. Mantle grayish brown, each feather margined with lighter tints. Scapulars dark 
brown. Back, rump and upper tail-coverts black, becoming iridescent near the tail. Breast and 
upper abdomen white, boldly marked with round dark-brown spots. Lower abdomen merging into 
dark brown and black, with the under tail-coverts brown-black. Wing with a typical speculum, 
iridescent green in color and bounded both in front and behind with a black, and next to it a white 
bar. Upper wing-coverts dark gray. Tertials, at least two of them, white on the outer web; primaries 
brown; under wing-coverts and axillars white. Central tail-feathers pointed and black, outer ones 
brown with light edges. 
Iris reddish brown. Bill black with a bright yellow tip; nail black. An area at base of culmen red. 
Legs and feet deep orange-color. 
W'ing 248-269 mm ; bill 52-55; tarsus 46-48. 
Female: Similar to the male but a little smaller. Color of soft parts, same or nearly so. 
Immature: Lack the red patch at base of upper mandible and are much less spotted on the under 
parts. 
