INDIAN SPOT-BILL 
91 
Young in Down: From the few specimens which I have examined it appears impossible to tell these 
from the young of the Mallard. 
DISTRIBUTION 
The Spot-billed Duck, a species only locally migratory, is confined to the Indian Peninsula, and to 
some parts of Indo-China. It is known from almost all sections of India south of the Himalayas and 
appears to be more abundant in the north and west than in the south or east. In the west it is com- 
mon and breeds in Sind and Guzerat (Hume and Marshall, 1879). It is fairly common in northern 
Guzerat and probably breeds there (E. A. Butler, 1876). According to Hume and Marshall (1879) 
it is common on the Indus, the Jhelum and the Chenab Rivers, but it is not known to have ever 
occurred in Baluchistan or Afghanistan. It is found in the Punjab, excepting in the extreme north- 
western sections, but has never been found in Kashmir, Kumaon, or any but the southernmost parts 
of Nepal (Hume and Marshall, 1879; I\Tiistler, 1922). Southward through central India, however, 
it is everywhere well known. It is resident in Lucknow (Jesse, 1903), in the Northwest Provinces 
and Oudh as well as in eastern Rajputana (Hume and Marshall, 1879), but though common in central 
India it grows rarer toward the south (Baker, 1908). Legge (1880), however, states that it is abun- 
dant in the Deccan and probably breeds there. It has never been recorded from southern Konkan 
(Hume and Marshall, 1879; Baker, 1908) and though it breeds in Mysore, Hume and Marshall 
(1879) think it must be rare along the entire southwest coast. In Ceylon it is not a v^ery eommon 
bird, occurring chiefly on the north and east coasts (Legge, 1880; Baker, 1908; Wait, 1917), and there 
is some reason to suppose that it is only a winter resident on the island. 
In the east the present species is said to be rare in Chota Nagpur (Legge, 1880), and, though it is 
common in Bengal, where it breeds (Baker, 1908, etc.), it appears to be quite exceptional on the 
lower Ganges and in the Calcutta region (Hume and Alarshall, 1879; Baker, 1908). It is, however, 
abundant in Sylhet, Cachar and in Manipur, where it breeds; and has been met with at altitudes up 
to 3000 or even 4000 feet (Baker, 1908). Farther north it is not so common on the Brahmaputra, 
though it is known from western Assam. Southward it is found in eastern Bengal, Chittagong and 
possibly in northern Arakan (Hume and Marshall, 1879; Baker, 1908). Specimens found east of 
Manipur, and in general east of 94° east longitude, have been ascribed to the subspecies Anas pascilo- 
rhyncha haringtoni. According to E. W. Oates (1907) this subspecies is confined to the valley of the 
Irrawaddy and the Shan States, but Baker (1914) goes much further and, regarding the subspecies 
as a link between Anas poecilorhyncha and Anas zonorhyncha of China, apparently includes some 
records of the Chinese species as properly referring to Anas pascilorhyncha haringtoni. He gives the 
range of the new subspecies as the whole of Burma, including the Shan States and Chin Hills, Yun- 
nan, Cochin (!) China, and possibly southwestern China, adjoining Burma. Much of this is not 
wholly clear and the evidence necessary for proof is not given. Baker (1914) furthermore states that 
the subspecies is found in Assam to the extreme east, rather rarely in Sibsagar and more commonly 
in Teypur and Lakimpur. Furthermore the older records for the Burmese countries must now be 
applied to Harington’s Duck. Blyth (1875) had recorded it for Assam and the Irrawaddy south to 
Mandalay. Hume and Marshall (1879) state that the species is not rare in Upper Burma, and E. W. 
Oates (1883) makes the same remark. Specimens have been recorded from Bhamo (Salvadori, 1887) 
and J. Anderson (1878) found it not uncommon in Upper Burma, at Bhamo and at Tamilone on the 
Taipeng River. It has been recorded from the Shan States (Blyth, 1875; E. W. Oates, 1883) and was 
found common in the South Shan States (Bingham and Thompson, 1900) at Fort Stedman and east 
to Mongnai (Rippon, 1901). The Gray Ducks seen by Barton (1914) and by Gyldenstolpe (1916) 
on the Meping Ri%’er (northwestern Siam) and recorded as Anas poecilorhyncha, no doubt also belong 
to this subspecies. 
The southern limit seems to be about 20° north latitude in Burma and there is no evidence to 
