File:Indian sporting birds (1915) (14750549175).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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lds are made in the mornings and evenings,and by day they retire to the broader waters to rest. Theyseem confined to fresh water. Although not bad divers whenurged by necessity, they do not seem to dive for food; this, ofcourse, is what one would expect, but there exists an old state-ment to the effect that the gadwall dived freely and frequently;this was probably founded on observation of some unusuallygifted individual bird. The gadwalls quack is more shrill thanthat of the mallard, and weaker and sharper, and more oftenused, according to Hume. This presumably refers to thefemale; the male, which is pretty noisy towards spring, hasa gruff, grunting quack, not at all like a mallard drakes note,or indeed like that of most male ducks, though the shoveller andclucking-teal have voices of somewhat the same type. Gadwall are not only thought highly of by sportsmen, butseem to be popular in pond society ; they are found, accordingto Hume, in the company of all sorts of other ducks, and are
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BKONZE-CAPPED DUCK 9 even tolerated by geese, who usually maintain an attitude oidisagreeable exclusiveness. The gadwall drake shows off to hismate in the same attitudes as the mallard, at which time thesudden exposure of his snow-white wing-bar has a curiousflashing effect against the dull iron-grej^ plumage. In captivityhe is a devoted mate, vigorously defending his chosen duck, andstrictly refraining from aggression towards the mates of hisneighbours, a virtue not so common among ducks of the mallardgroup as it might be. He is, in fact, the typical, good, stead3^reliable bird of his tribe. Outside India the gadwall has the samewide range all round the northern parts of the world as themallard, but it is not always equally common everywhere ; itis not, for instance, abundant at-the very far end of Asia anymore than in Britain. The Bengali name is Peing-hans, theNepaulese Mail, the Sindhi Bard; while other appellationsare the Hindustani Bhuar and Beykhur. Bronzc-cappcd Duck. * Eunett

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