COMB or KNOB-BILLED DUCK 71 



(Horsbrugh, 1912). A specimen had apparently been taken also in Natal some time before 1862 (Scla- 

 ter, Ibis, ser. 1, vol. 4, p. 284, 1862). There is no record of its occurrence in the Orange South Af- 

 River Colony, but it has been taken on the Molopo River near Mafeking, southwestern rica ; Orange 

 Transvaal (W. Ayres, 1887; Shelley, 1882) at Potchefstroom (Barratt, 1876; W. Ayres, River 

 1887) and at Rustenburg (W. Ayres, 1887). According to C. H. Taylor (1907), it is resident and 

 breeds in southeastern Transvaal in the Amersfoort District, and Haagner (1914) re- ~ , 



cently discovered it breeding on the Crocodile River in the same general region, this be- 

 ing the southernmost breeding record. 



Between the Limpopo and the Zambesi, that is in southern Rhodesia, the species has been fre- 

 quently found. There are specimens from the Tati River in the South African Museum, and F. Oates 

 (1881) found it on the Ramaquaban River. It is common during the rains on the Que Que River, and 

 in Matabeleland in general (C. H. Taylor, 1907; Holub and von Pelzeln, 1882). According to Mouritz 

 (1914) it is not infrequently seen on the Matopo River, and in Mangwe, and it apparently breeds 

 farther north on the Shangani (E. C. Chubb, 1908). In Mashonaland, however, it seems to be very 

 rare, for G. A. K. Marshall (1900) only saw one bird there in upper Mazoe. 



The Comb Duck is known also from Portuguese East Africa. Bradshaw {fide Stark and Sclater, 

 1906) and Kirk (1864) both saw it on the Zambesi, and Manning {fide Reichenow, 1900) has recorded 

 it from Luchinde. Percival (1902) saw only one specimen on the Shire River, but it has Portuguese 

 been recorded also from Lake Shirwa (Shelley, 1898). In the south it was found by East Africa 

 Swynnerton (1908) near Chibabava, Gazaland. In Madagascar this species, though apparently not 

 particularly common, is found generally distributed in suitable localities (Milne-Edwards and 

 Grandidier, 1876-81 ; Hartlaub, 1877; Pollen and Dam, 1868; Sibree, 1892; and others). 



In Asia the Comb Duck, more generally known as Nukta, is ordinarily found only in India and in 

 the Burmese Countries, where it is resident; though, as in Africa, it moves about as the weather re- 

 quires. Its northwestern limit was long a subject of dispute, but it is now known to India 

 visit the Punjab rarely, and it is said to breed there (Hume and Marshall, 1879); and Burma 

 along the Lower Indus it is known to occur certainly in Sind, for eight were seen and two shot there 

 in December, 1911 (Webb, Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc, vol. 21, p. 685, 1912). It does not occur 

 in the Himalayas, however, though the British Museum possesses a specimen from Sikkim Terai. 

 Elsewhere it is generally distributed throughout the peninsula from Rajputana (ex- Sikkim 

 cepting the northwestern part), and Gujerat, Cutch and Kathiawar, south to Ceylon Ceylon 

 and east to Burma. It is, however, rather rare along the entire west coast, in South Konkan, Mala- 

 bar, and Travancore, as also in the region south of Mysore (Hume and Marshall, 1879; Baker, 1908). 

 Still, in Ceylon, it is not as uncommon as one would suppose, and it is even known to breed there 

 (Legge, 1880; Wait, 1917). 



On the east the species is not so rare in Cachar and in Sylhet, where it breeds (Baker, 1908), and it 

 extends up the valley of the Brahmaputra as far as Sadiya (Hume and Marshall, 1879). For a long 

 time its status in Arakan was uncertain, but it is now known to be not uncommon there (Baker, 1908) 

 and it is said to be common also in Upper Burma (Blyth, 1875). It has been recorded Burma 

 as plentiful in Upper Pegu (E. W. Oates, 1883), and the British Museum has a speci- Pegu 

 men from Lower Pegu. Rippon (1901) found the species rather common in the South Shan States. 

 Williamson (1918) has reported a specimen taken thirty miles east of Bangkok, Siam, and Gylden- 

 stolpe (1913) saw in a garden captive birds that were said to have been taken in ~. 

 northeastern Siam. 



A very remarkable record for this species is its recent appearance in Fokien, southeastern China, 

 where, at Foochow, a male was shot April 18, and another in June, 1914 (La Touche, 1917). It 

 appears that a flock occurred in that vicinity that year, and the late date, June, may p ... 

 indicate breeding. 



