WHITE-EYED DUCK 199 



Tristram (1884) describes this species as common in Palestine, but Sladen (1919) did not find it 

 very abundant in the south. A few winter in Cyprus (Bucknill, 1911) and on the coast Palestine 

 of Asia Minor (Braun, 1908). Although there are not many records, it is probably a Asia 

 common bird on the Euphrates in Mesopotamia. It is found in the Caucasus at Minor 

 Tiflis and abundantly at Lenkoran in the cold season (Radde, 1884) and likewise Caucasus 

 throughout most of Persia and Baluchistan (Zarudny, 1911; Meinertzhagen, 1920). P ersia 

 In northern India it is extremely abundant, wintering in Kashmir and in the Himalayas lnaia - 

 and on the peninsula south rarely to about 17° north latitude or even farther on the 

 east side. It is a common bird east to the Brahmaputra, though it is also found in the basin of that 

 river in Chittagong, Sylhet, Cachar, Manipur and Assam (Hume and Marshall, 1879; Baker, 1921). 

 It has also been recorded from Arakan (Baker, 1921) and from the South Shan States (Rippon, 1901). 



As to the status of this species in China it is difficult to speak with certainty. According to David 

 and Oustalet (1877) it is a common bird about Peking in spring, and many winter in China. Reich- 

 enow (1907) has recorded a specimen from Tsingtau, and recently La Touche (1921) _,, . 

 has described it as " extremely abundant " during late September and early October in 

 northeastern Chili ! The same author thinks that two or three White-eyed Ducks which he saw in 

 the Shasi Market (Hupeh) on February 25, 1918, belonged to this species. It has never been obtained 

 in Japan. The records of Blakiston and Pryer (1878), Ogawa (1908) and others all apply to Baer's 

 Pochard (Kuroda, in litt.). We need more material from eastern China to settle the point as to 

 whether this duck is anything more than a straggler in eastern China and Baer's Pochard the com- 

 mon form, or rather the commoner form. Various reports of its occurrence in Jamaica are undoubt- 

 edly due to misunderstanding. 



Migration 



The White-eyed Pochard is, in many suitable localities, a resident bird, and seems, on the whole, to 

 be averse to unnecessary traveling. It will winter anywhere if the weather permits. In consequence 

 it is impossible to say much of value in regard to migration. The data are very meager and offer 

 nothing worthy of note. We know that in northern Africa this duck, like many others, stays until 

 May or sometimes even spends the summer. Migrant birds in Europe generally pass over Italy in 

 February and March (Giglioli, 1886), over Dalmatia early in March (Kolombatovic, 1903), over 

 Hungary about March 12, — average date of arrival 1895-1911 (Aquila, vol. 20, p. 144, 1913), — 

 over Bohemia early in March (Fritsch, 1872) and arrive in Germany in late March (Naumann, 

 1896-1905), in Poland in early April (Taczanowski, 1888) and in southern Russia at about the same 

 time (Goebel, 1871). 



In the autumn they leave the north late in October or early in November, and reach northern 

 Africa in November and December. One which was banded in England was taken in Finland during 

 the following year in the breeding season. 



Our data for Asia are even more fragmentary. They leave Lenkoran for the north late in February 

 (Radde, 1884). Farther east they appear in southern Afghanistan early in February (C. Swinhoe, 

 1882) and pass over the Murghab River, Transcaspia, between March 23 and April 13 (Radde and 

 Walter, 1889). 



In the autumn they arrive at Lenkoran late in November (Radde, 1884). They pass over Kash- 

 garia late in September and October (Oustalet, 1894) and linger in southern Tibet until late Novem- 

 ber (H. J. Walton, 1906), though the bulk reach India during the last week in October (Hume and 

 Marshall, 1879). 



GENERAL HABITS 



This active little diver is not well known to the sportsmen of western Europe but 

 it is the commonest breeding duck in some parts of southeastern Europe and even 



