PINK-HEADED DUCK 93 



of close texture, but not "smooth or satiny," and without gloss. Finn (1919) says 

 they remind one of a set of billiard balls. In color they are pure white or faintly 

 yellowish, and measure about 45.7 mm. by 42.2 mm. This is the only duck that lays 

 a spherical egg. The young are on the wing in September and October, and the birds 

 then retire to their usual winter haunts. 



Status of Species. According to Finn (1915) the Pink-head is not nearly as 

 plentiful in the Calcutta Market as it used to be in the nineties of the last century. 

 At that time they could be bought for fifteen rupees, but at present, informants tell 

 him that probably an offer of one hundred rupees would not bring a single speci- 

 men. He thinks it is possible that the species has become shy by too persistent net- 

 ting; certainly the birds, on account of their extremely limited range, should be 

 given absolute protection. I understand this is now afforded them in the breeding 

 season only. 



Mr. Stuart Baker sent me an interesting note on the status of the duck in 1920. 

 He regards protection as having little to do with its great rarity. He adds, "It is so 

 seldom seen and so little known because it inhabits only the wildest country, the 

 haunts of tigers and other animals that the native keeps as far away from as he can, 

 whilst its malaria-stricken tracts are avoided by both white and black men during 

 the breeding season. Forty years have elapsed since I first saw it and no reward has 

 sufficed since then to induce ' shikaris ' to visit its breeding places and find me a nest 

 and eggs. As civilization and cultivation advance the bird may be driven back, 

 but it will be many generations before it can be affected thereby." 



Food Value. All authorities except Jerdon (1864) consider the flesh of this bird 

 very inferior. The Pink-head is rarely hunted as game, not only because of its 

 scarcity, but also because of its low value as food. Simson (1884) prefers every other 

 duck, excepting the Shoveller, and considers it worse for the table than even the 

 Brahminy or the Whistling Teal. Among large bags of other water-fowl, more than 

 one or two of this species are rarely taken. Baker (1908) mentions six in a day as an 

 unusual number. 



Behavior in Captivity. The Pink-head has always been extremely rare in cap- 

 tivity, even in India. Very few have reached Europe, and apparently only one pair 

 ever reached the London Zoological Gardens, and that in the year 1874. They did 

 not live very long and never bred. Mr. G. D. Tilly, of Darien, Connecticut, received 

 one specimen about ten years ago, but it lived only a few days. Several pairs that 

 reached London in 1897 were sold at prices varying from £40 to £60 the couple 

 (Hubbard, 1907). The only note on its behavior in captivity is supplied by Finn 

 (1915), who tells of a characteristic wing-whistle heard from the birds when flying 

 in an aviary. Mr. F. E. Blaauw writes me that he has never kept it 



