TADOKNA. 261 



299. Dendrocygna fulva. The Large Whistling Teal. 

 Murghabi, Bengal; Badak, Seccan; Yerrinda, Travancore; Silli, India; Sisalee, Pegu. 



$ 18" to 21"; 1| lbs. S 19J"; 1^ lbs. Legs leaden. Bill leaden. Head 

 (with slight crest) -nd neck chestnut. A gorget of whitish hackles, and black 

 stripe down back of neck. Flank-feathers long, with dark edges. Upper tail- 

 coverts whitish. C. and S. America, Africa (south of the Sahara), Madagascar, 

 India, Ceylon, and Burma. Eggs 2-18 x 1-7. (J. 953. B. 1590.) See illustra- 

 tion, p. 260. 



Also D. arcuata. 17". Legs and bill dark ashy. Head and line down back of neck chocolate. 

 Back and scapulars black, edged rufous. Breast pale rufous, dotted black. Abdomen whitish, 

 with brown spots. Philippines, Celebes, Borneo, Java, Moluccas, New Guinea, Australia, and 

 Fiji Islands. 



D. viduata. 17i". Legs leaden. Bill brown, nail black. Anterior part of head and throat 

 white. Lower neck chestnut. Back brown, with narrow fulvous bars. Rump and upper tail- 

 coverts black. W. Indies, S. America, Africa (south of the Sahara), and Madagascar. 



D. autumnalis. 19". Legs pink. Bill coral-red, nail blue. Mantle and back chestnut. 

 Bump, upper tail-coverts, abdomen, flanks, and under wing-coverts black. C. America. 



D. discolor. Similar to D. autumnalis, but mantle is grey-brown. Breast grey. North of 

 S. America. 



D. arborea. 22". Legs and bill black. Breast reddish brown, indistinctly spotted white. 

 Abdomen and under tail-coverts white, thickly spotted black. Upper tail-coverts black. 

 Bahamas and Antilles. 



D. guttata. 17". Legs ashy. Bill black. Superciliary stripe, sides of head, and upper 

 neck grey. Upper tail-coverts black, broadly barred white. Upper breast rufous, with white 

 spots. Celebes, Moluccas, and New Guinea. 



D. eytoni. 16". Legs rose. Bill reddish, with mottled patch. Sides of breast reddish, 

 barred black. Wing with no chestnut colour. Feathers of flanks buff, long, and acuminate, 

 margined black. Australia and New Zealand. 



Tarsus scutellate in front near the foot. 

 Wing speculum always present, more or less conspicuous. 



Genus TADORNA. 



Tadorna, an Italian word, which seems first to occur in B^lon, 1585, as the Latinised name 

 of a bird. 



Bill short, high, swelling at base, and concave in middle. Tip flat and turning 

 up. Nail hooked. Tail rounded, of fourteen feathers. 



300. Tadorna comuta. The Burrow Duck or Common Sheldrake. 

 Cor»«to=horned ; from comu=3, horn. 

 Shah-chakwa, Upper India; Niraji, Sind; Shah moorghabi, Cabul. 



(? 23" to 26" ; 3 lbs. ? 21" to 22" ; 2 lbs. Legs red. Bill and basal knob 

 red, tip black. Head and neck glossy green. "White collar. Chestnut breast- 

 band, uniting on back. Mesial black line. Speculum chestnut, black, and green. 

 Tail white, tipped black. — Female: No knob at base of bill. Lower plumage 

 white, mottled brown; no band. Europe and Asia, migrating in winter to 

 S. Europe, N. Africa, W. Asia, N. India, S. China, and Japan. Nest in a burrow. 

 Seven to sixteen eggs (2-6 x 1-9), buff. Hatched in twenty-eight to thirty days, 

 and immediately led to the sea. (J. 956. B. 1587.) See illustration, p. 262. 



Also T. radjah. 19". Legs and bill white, no knob at base. Head, neck, breast, and 

 abdomen white. Tail black. Moluccas, Papuan Islands, and Australia. 

 E 



