290 V. Ball — Notes on Andaman Birds. [No. 4, 
The white on chin and throat exists in Nos. 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 ? Nos. 
1, 3 and 4 have no trace of it. 
61. Bittortdes .Tavantca, Horsf. 
Two specimens are conspicuously smaller than any of a good series of 
Indian birds with which I have compared them ; but correspond closely in 
coloration and other details of plumage. $ Wing 6'5 ; bill at front 2'4 ; 
tarsus T65 inches. 
Fain. Anatid.u. 
t 62. ? Mabeca punctata, Cuv. Gould, Birds of Australia, vol. VII, 
pi. 11. M. castanea, Eyton. 
What Col. Tytler’s Querquedula Andamanensis may be I am unable 
to say, as it has not been described, and the original specimen appears to have 
been lost. Prima facie it is improbable that a local species of Querquedula 
exists in the islands. Be that as it may, the present collection contains 
specimens of what is commonly known as the ‘ teal’ of the Andamans to the 
residents there. Except that they have a patch of white surrounding the 
eye and that the plumage of the head is somewhat darker, they correspond 
very closely with Gould’s figure of Mareca punctata, Cuv. Erom his 
description it is evident that the plate exaggerates the bluish tinge of the 
velvet black speculum. 
Two of the specimens shew an incipient stage towards the full breeding 
plumage of the male, scattered patches of bright ferruginous or chesnut ap- 
pearing on the feathers of the breast and abdomen. 
The occurrence of this species in the Andamans would be very interest- 
ing. It has previously only been found in Australia, Van Diemen’s Land, 
the Moluccas and New Caledonia. 
• » 
Note . — While the preceding pages were passing through the press the sad news 
of the death of Col. Tytler at Simla reached us, His name, so frequently mentioned 
above, will ever be inseparably connected with the avifauna of the Andaman Islands. 
