File:Indian sporting birds (1915) (14747389881).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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winged teal; there is, as a matterof fact, no actual bright blue about the wing, but the inner half,in the drake, is of a delicate French grey, very noticeable inflight, and his white eyebrows are also striking points; while onthe water the mottled brown of the fore- and hind-parts, con-trasting with the grey of the sides, are characteristic. Exceptfor the wing-bar, which is of a rather subdued green, there is nobright colour about this little duck, but nevertheless he is a verystriking bird. The female, in her plain mottled-brown plumage, is at firstsight just like the female common teal, but has not the brilliantgreen wing-patch. The male in undress can be distinguished bythe lavender and green on the wings ; on the water with wingsfolded he is just like his mate, and he bears his undress plumagelonger than any other duck, not coming into male colour till thespring. The garganey is a slightly bigger bird than the commonteal, weighing generally about thirteen ounces and even reaching
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< —IIDQLUZ3 a: cr GARGANEY 17 a pound. It has a rather shorter beak, and is generally moreshapely and fashioned like a miniature mallard. No duck visits us in greater numbers than this ; in fact, iwhat one saw in the Calcutta Bazaar in the nineties was anycriterion, this bird is in winter the most numerous duck in thecountry, surpassing even the whistler and the common teal. Ithabitually associates in flocks of hundreds and even thousands;parties of less than a score are uncommon. The large flocksare mostly to be found in the north-west, though the bird isdistributed over India and Burma generally, and is well knownin Ceylon. It has less predilection for small and weed-grownbits of water than the common teal, and is quite at home onwide lakes and rivers, where by choice it spends the day. Itfeeds mostly at night, and in some localities destroys the paddyby the acre, being chiefly a vegetable feeder, though of course,like ducks in general, it does not despise any animal food itcom

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