Indian sporting birds (1915) (14563909389)

Identifier: indiansportingbi00finn (find matches)

Title: Indian sporting birds

Year: 1915 (1910s)

Authors: Finn, Frank, 1868-1932 Hume, Allan Octavian, 1829-1912 Marshall, Charles Henry Tilson, 1841-

Subjects: Birds -- India Game and game-birds -- India

Publisher: London : Francis Edwards

Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library

Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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e ordinary quarry of the wildfowler in the East. They are generally day-feeders, but also feed at night, andare commonly siiot at flighting time, though then only in smallparties. The flocks usually contain both sexes, but occasionallymales only may constitute a flock. The sexes differ considerablyin their voice, the drakes note being a whistle—not the same,however, as the wigeon drakes; the ducks call is the usual Jiurrof the females of the pochard group. The great distinctness of the sexes causes this bird to beone of the few with different sex-names in the vernaculars ; inBengali the male is Hero, the female Chobra-lians ; in Nepalesethe words are different, Dumar for the male and Samoa for thefemale ; the Sindhi liatoha applies to both sexes. The red-crested pochard is nowhere a duck of the high north;it breeds as near us as Turkestan, and extends west throughSouthern Europe to North Africa. India seems to be its chiefwinter resort. In Britain it is rare as a wild bird, but well

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< Z3 cc < < ccen M^ STIFF-TAILED DUCK 37 known in captivit), in which state it often breeds. The nest ison the ground in rushes, and the eggs, when fresh, are remark-able for the brightness of their green colour, about eight beingthe usual clutch. Stiff-tailed Duck. Erismatura leucocephala. The remarkable appearance of this duck always attractsattention ; it sits very low in the water, often erecting its longthin wiry tail, which balances as it were the big head withits remarkably broad bill, much bulged at the root. Whenapproached it dives in preference to flying, and if it does risedoes not usually travel far; the wings are extraordinarily small.The plumage is peculiar but not striking, being of a pencilledbrown, sometimes much tinged with chestnut. The head ismarked with a lateral streak of white on a blackish ground,and the throat is white, the bill and feet slate-colour. Atleast, that is the plumage of most of the specimens whichturn up in India; the adult male is a real

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1915

American Museum of Natural History Library

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