6 ANAS ANGUSTIROSTRIS 



to justify making a separate genus for it, unless indeed, we are to place every well- 

 marked species of duck in a genus by itself. Superficially the only remarkable char- 

 acter in the Marbled Duck is the absence of the speculum. But very noteworthy is 

 its peculiar distribution, which extends from west to east covering a very narrow 

 belt, hardly exceeding the Mediterranean subregion. It evidently has little in 

 common with other pala?arctic ducks. 



Hume and Marshall (1879) speak of the Marbled Duck as "poor" and rather 

 "sluggish," "very much disposed to take life easy, and in a dolcefar nientc style; and 

 lacking in every line the vigour and energy that characterize races born and bred 

 within the hardy north." It certainly seems to be of a retiring nature, preferring 

 thickly covered to open waters, and spending much of its time in the rushes. It is 

 essentially a fresh-water duck, but during migration has been seen on the sea (Irby, 

 1875). 



Wariness. As noted before, the Marbled Duck is a rather sluggish bird, and 

 most observers have found it moderately tame, often allowing a boat to push within 

 gunshot through the rushes. In the breeding season it appears to be very tame, and 

 when one of the pair is killed the other will return. In the autumn they unite into 

 larger flocks and are then much more difficult to approach (Zarudny, 1889-90; 

 H. Noble, 1902). When not too hard hunted, Hume and Marshall (1879) found 

 them acting like Coots, concealing themselves in the rushes, and only reluctantly 

 taking wing. Tristram (1884), however, found them very wild and wary in northern 

 Palestine in June, and Irby (1875) and J. I. S. Whitaker (1905) speak of them as 

 shy and difficult to approach in Spain and Tunis. 



Gait, Swimming and Diving. These ducks do not dive except when wounded, 

 and even then they show no particular agility (Hume and Marshall, 1879). 



Flight. "The flight of this species," says Hume (Hume and Marshall, 1879), 

 " though teal-like, is less rapid and flexible (if I may coin an expression to represent 

 the extreme facility with which that species turns and twists in the air) than that of 

 the Common Teal. It more nearly resembles that of the Garganey, but is less 

 powerful, and less rapid even than that of this latter species. There is something of 

 the Gadwall in it, but it wants the ease of this. It flies much lower too, and, as al- 

 ready mentioned, much more readily resettles after being disturbed." Irby (1875) 

 likens the flight to that of the female Pintail, and Zarudny (1889-90) says it re- 

 minded him of the Gadwall. Others speak of it as fast and rapid, but there is evi- 

 dently nothing very characteristic about it. 



In the cool season these ducks are gregarious and unite in flocks numbering some- 

 times hundreds (Irby, 1875; Hume and Marshall, 1879). 



