File:Indian sporting birds (1915) (14727565176).jpg

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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resemblesin having a large angular bulb in the windpipe. A peculiarityof its beak, unique among Indian birds, should be noticed ; thenostrils are very near the tip, further forward even than in agoose. As an article of food this bird is highly fishy; but itsgreen eggs are esteemed by the inhabitants of the north, whoput up boxes for it to lay in. Smew. * Mergus alhellns. Nihenne, Sindi. The pretty little smew is at once known from all our diving-ducks by its short narrow dark beak; its quick nimble way ofrising into the air is also distinctive among this splatteringtribe, though it often prefers to swim, which it can do at greatspeed, rather than fly. It can swim either high or low in thewater, and is exceedingly wary. The adult males plumage is very distinctive and beautiful,being white below and on the head and neck, except for a blackpatch on each side of the face, like a mask, and a black Y atthe back of the head, which has a full, though short crest. * Mercjfillus on plate. >
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SMEW 41 The rest of the plumage is black, white, and grey, no othercolour appearing. The weight is about a pound and a half.Females and young males, which are much smaller, the malenot attaining either full size or colour till his second year, andmuch more likely to be met with, are dark grey above and whitebelow, with bright chestnut head and white throat, and black-and-white wings. They weigh little over the pound. Theshort narrow beak and bright chestnut head with pure whitethroat extending well up on the jaws make the name .ofweasel-coot, or its equivalent vare-wigeon, sometimesgiven as this birds old Enghsh names, quite intelligible, asthere is something decidedly weaselly about the birds look.In its extreme activity also this little fishing duck recalls thesmallest of the four-footed carnivora; it is the fastest diverof all our waterfowl, flies with ease and speed, and even onland, in spite of the breadth of its body and shortness of its legs,to say nothing of its very large fee

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