WHITE-WINGED WOOD DUCK 81 



Young in Down: Not seen. 



Remarks: Salvadori (1895) notices that this bird is kept in confinement in the East and then becomes 

 partially albinistic, white feathers appearing on neck, breast, and abdomen. Stone (1903) men- 

 tions two specimens collected in Sumatra which had the head, rump, and breast white. Blyth (1875) 

 called attention to specimens in the Leyden Museum (from Java?) which were parti-colored. I have 

 seen one very albinistic specimen in the British Museum from the Moluccas and also one in the 

 Leyden Museum. There are no specific accounts of the domestication of this duck that I can find. 



Moult : Baker (1908) found this species moulting in September or October. The flight feathers were 

 shed very rapidly and the birds were then unable to rise from the ground for about a fortnight. After 

 that they were able to flutter from one perch to another or to take short flights. The new plumage 

 is extremely rich and glossy, and gives the birds an entirely different appearance. 



DISTRIBUTION 



An inhabitant of dense and inaccessible forest areas, this species is little known and its status is still 

 uncertain. The only record of its occurrence west of the Ganges is that given by Baker (1908) who 

 speaks of four having been seen in the Singbhoom District, Chutia Nagpur. Jerdon T ,. 

 (1864) claimed to have seen many specimens at Dacca on the Lower Brahmaputra, but 

 most authorities are agreed that he was in error. Northward, however, a specimen was taken in the 

 Garo Hills, another at Tezpur, and a third on the Dhansiri River, Assam, while farther up the Brah- 

 maputra it was found rare in Darrang, but common in Lakhimpur (Hume and Marshall, 1879). 

 Baker's personal observations have done much to support these statements. He describes the species 

 as very rare in Bengal, but becoming increasingly common as one follows the Brahmaputra up- 

 stream through Kamrup, Darrang, the Namba Forest, etc., to Lakhimpur, where the species is as 

 well known, apparently, as anywhere, and where it nests (Baker, 1908). Its status southward through 

 Burma is very uncertain, but Blyth (1875) is certainly mistaken when he described it as occurring 

 throughout the country. It is a fairly common bird in Cachar and Naogang (Baker, 1908) and several 

 were seen in Manipur (Huggins, 1913), while it is occasionally seen also in northern Arakan (Hop- 

 wood, 1912). Eastward it has been taken at Bhamo, but is very rare in Burma (Evans, „ 

 Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc, vol. 13, p. 532, 1901). Rippon (1901) did not meet 

 with it in the South Shan States, nor did Hume's collectors even see it in Upper Burma. It appears 

 to be rare in Tenasserim, though there are some specimens from Tavoy and Mergui „. 

 (Hume and Marshall, 1879). The species has recently been taken in western Siam, in 

 the Raheng District (Barton, 1914). 



In the northern section of the Malay Peninsula it appears to be very abundant, though Gylden- 

 stolpe (1916) says he met with it only once in the northernmost parts (11° 50' north latitude). Hume 

 got specimens from Poonga, Kussoom, and Kopah in this region, while Robinson and Malay 

 Kloss (1911) state that it is very common about Trang and fairly so farther south at Peninsula 

 Chong. Recently the same writers (1919) have recorded it for Nong Kok and Ghirbi in the 

 Puket District. Bonhote (1901) has recorded it from Patelung. At best it seems to be rare in the 

 southern parts of the Peninsula. Vorderman (1890) recorded it from Sumatra and Hartert (1902) 

 says that it was frequently shot in Deli District, northwest Sumatra, by Hagen. The ~ . 

 only specific locality I could find is Lampong, extreme southeast, where Harrison and 

 Miller shot two specimens in autumn (Stone, 1902). According to Schlegel (1866) the species was 

 found by Miiller also in Java, on Lake Gorong and at Buitenzorg, though this may - 

 have been a domesticated form. G. R. Gray (1871) was unquestionably wrong in 

 giving the Moluccas as its habitat. 



