SLENDER OR GREY TEAL. 
These figures appear to me very instructive, as, so far as is known, no 
green-headed birds occur on the Islands north of Australia, consequently 
these must aU be referable to the Grey Teal. Celebes is the type-locality 
and we notice there is variation there, but it might be suggested, as there is 
only one sexed male and three unsexed all smaller, that the latter may be 
females and therefore smaller. The East Timor series, however, dismisses 
that doubt, as all the seven were collected and sexed by the same man, 
the variation is seen weU, both sexes varying equally, the females being as 
large as the males. This disposes of one theory that the males were larger 
than the females. 
I have given the width of the bill, as it seemed at times that the 
bill was longer and thinner in certain cases, but here again the East 
Timor series settled that theory, both males and females having equally 
long and thin or short and thick bills without any apparent difference. 
Other features varied also, as the metatarsal length. I have laid stress on 
measurements as colour seemed valueless, almost all the Timor and Celebes 
birds being light compared with a very dark supposed female of 
N. castaneum from Tasmania, but one Celebes bird was darker, and the 
Tasmanian bird was unique in its dark colour, all other Australian birds 
being comparatively lighter. 
The confusion existent in connection with Australian birds made it 
difficult to get accurate comparison, but a series from inland Western 
Australia, which should be unquestionably this species, according to 
Mr. Tom Carter’s observations, gave : — 
Exp. 
Wing. 
Tarsus. 
M.t. alone. 
culm. Breadth. 
^ ad. 
194 
38 
40 
39 X 14 
ad. 
199 
38 
40 
37 X 14 
$ juv. . . 
194 
37 
39 
38 X 14 
37 X 15 \\ 
• 
• 
• 
!> 
198 
36 
38 
$ juv. . . 
193 
35 
37 
35 X 14 
The constancy of these measurements and the steady decrease in the 
Juveniles confirms the conclusion that there is no difference in size between 
male and female of this species, but simply individual variation. I regard 
aU color variation as also individual and neither sexual nor specific. 
A pair collected together in Victoria confirm this : — 
d 
209 
37 
39 
$ 
186 
37 
39 
38 X 14 
38 X 15 
111 
