Kamaing area, Kachin State. The photograph shows one of the large grasslands studded with pools near the Nat Kaung river. (Photograph by Jonathan C. Eames.) 

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... pools that might have been suitable for Pinkheaded Duck. Between 1 and 5 December 2004, the survey team visited Nawng Kwin (25 20 9 30 0 N, 96 22 9 00 0 E; c . 200 m a.s.l.; Figure 2), a medium-sized ( c . 1,500 ha) wetland to the north of Indawgyi lake (Figure 2). Nawng Kwin is a seasonally inundated grassland, with some swamp forest and a few scattered, open pools, up to 200 m in diameter (Figure 5). On 1 December, a young man, Saw Aung, who reported knowing Pink-headed Duck, was asked to flush birds from pools in the grassland. At 11h15, he flushed a flock of around 45 Mallard Anas platyrhnchos . A single bird broke off from the flock, climbed quite high, circled for 2 to 3 minutes, and then descended into the grassland. For most of the time, the bird was at a distance of 300–500 m from the observers, although it was over 1 km away by the time it landed. Three observers (T.A., J.C.E. and A.W.T.) watched the bird through telescopes for most of the time that it was airborne. All three noted that the bird was medium-sized (around the same size as a Mallard), with a pale head and neck, contrasting with a dark body and upperwings. Only two medium-sized ducks occurring in South-East Asia have this combination of features: Pinkheaded Duck, and Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha . The lack of white tertials rules out A. p. haringtoni , the most widespread subspecies of Spot-billed Duck in South-East Asia. It does not, however, rule out another subspecies, A. p. zonorhyncha , which has very reduced white in the tertials, and which was recorded in the lowlands of Kachin state during the November– December 2004 survey (Tordoff et al. in press). The fact that the bill appeared to all three observers to be the same pale colour as the head and neck, as in an adult male Pink-headed Duck, rather than appearing dark with a contrasting pale tip, as in Spot-billed Duck (Figure 6), the facts that one observer (T.A.) thought that he saw pink on the head and neck as the bird initially flushed and that the flight of the bird was not obviously like that of any other duck, suggest that it was a Pink-headed Duck not a Spot-billed Duck. However, one observer (J.C.E.) noted white underwing coverts contrasting with dark flight feathers, which is a feature shown by Spot-billed Duck but not Pink-headed Duck, and none of the observers noted a pale leading edge to the upper wing coverts or contrasting (buff) secondaries, both of which are features of adult male Pink-headed Ducks. While one of the observers (T.A.) felt that the bird seen at Nawng Kwin was very likely a Pink-headed Duck, the other two felt that it was not possible, on the basis of views obtained, to rule out the zonorhyncha subspecies of Spot-billed Duck. On balance, therefore, this record should be treated as a possible but unconfirmed sighting of Pink-headed Duck. The place where Saw Aung thought that the bird had flushed from was visited on 2 December 2004. It comprised two pools of open water, each 10–12 m in diameter, in an area of knee-high, inundated grassland, c . 35 m wide, surrounded by taller grasses over 3 m in height. On 8 December 2004, a boatman on the Tanai river reported to the survey team that he had seen a Pink-headed Duck in the Kamaing area, although without providing information on the date and year. The bird was reportedly seen alone out of the water. A second anecdotal report related to the Kamaing area was received from Dr La Kha (the same person who reported having seen the species near Talawgyi; see above) on 10 October 2005. Dr La Kha reported seeing two ducks on the lower Indawgyi river, close to Kamaing town (Figure 2), in 1999 or 2000. The birds were reportedly swimming on the river and flushed when the boat he was travelling in approached. He reported noticing that the male had a pink, unusually shaped head but without a dark throat, as illustrated. He also reported that the female’s head looked like a typical duck’s. He added that the area where he saw the birds was a vast grassland at the time but had since been largely converted to cultivation. Considering that this report refers to birds swimming on a river and the equivocal description given, it seems more likely that these birds were Red-crested Pochards or, indeed, another duck species, than Pink-headed Duck. The Kamaing area was visited briefly during December 2004, in response to second-hand reports of the occurrence of Pink-headed Duck and reports that the area supported pools in grassland. Unfortunately, the survey team was unable to procure a boat and the survey was restricted to anthropogenic habitats near Kamaing town (25 u 31’30 0 N, 96 u 43 9 00 0 E; c . 175 m a.s.l.; Figure 2). A longer visit to the Kamaing area was made between 11 and 26 October 2005, during which the survey team visited 12 ox-bows and three large grasslands near the Nat Kaung river (Figure 2). The large grasslands visited contained a small number of scattered pools, and were drained by deep streams (Figure 7). During the visit, a number of anecdotal reports of Pink-headed Duck were received, several of which appeared to have been prompted by the posters circulated prior to the survey. On 13 October 2005, the survey team received a report from a man who claimed to have seen the bird on Nawng Kooh In (25 u 41 9 15 0 N, 96 u 39 9 00 0 E), a small ox-bow, c . 300 m west of the Nat Kaung river. He reported that the bird is very shy and always sees people before they see it, then retreats into emergent vegetation. The survey team visited Nawng Kooh In on the same day but it was very quiet with few birds. On 13 October, the survey team received a report from a man who claimed to have seen two Pink-headed Ducks at night several months previously on Man Tin In (25 u 29 9 15 0 N, 96 u 45 9 45 0 E), a large ox-bow, c . 600 m east of the Mogaung Chaung (Figure 2), downstream of Kamaing town. He described the male as dark with a pink head. He reported that the bird is very shy and keeps to the water’s edge. The survey team visited Man Tin In on 27 October, and it appeared to be very suitable for waterfowl, with pools of open water amid floating vegetation and grasses. Only five Cotton Pygmy-geese Nettapus coromandelianus were seen, however. On 16 October, the survey team received a report from Poh Sa, a farmer along the Nat Kaung river, who reported that, in September–October 2004, while looking for rubies near Za Baw village, he camped near a pool in a valley lined with wild bananas. Every evening, he reported, two ducks came to roost near his camp, leaving again every morning. He thought that the ducks were Pink-headed Ducks, because the male was larger and more colourful, while the female was smaller and paler. In response to this report, members of the survey team visited the pool near Za Baw village together with Poh Sa on 20 and 21 October, where they heard a White-winged Duck Cairina scutulata coming to roost in the evening and saw one leave on the following morning. This was one of several examples of local people having difficulty distinguishing between Pink-headed Duck and White-winged Duck. This problem was perhaps compounded by the fact that White-winged Duck was not included on the posters as a possible confusion species, and the fact that the illustration of the female Pink-headed Duck (which was taken from Grimmett et al. 1998) does superficially resemble a White-winged Duck. On 17 October, the survey team received a report from a fisherman who claimed to have seen five Pink-headed Ducks on a pool in the large grassland to the north-east of the Nat Kaung river in 2004. He added that the ducks had been too shy to hunt. The survey team followed up this report on 19 October, and visited two medium-sized ox-bows by elephant back. The first ox-bow was over 100 m long, about 1 m deep and bordered by tall grass and reeds. The second was about 200 m long and 20 m wide, with a row of stunted, submerged trees down the middle. Both ox- bows were bordered on one side by forest and on the other by a large grassland, and neither showed any signs of human disturbance. However, no waterfowl were observed. On 22 October, the survey team received several reports of an unusual duck from people living near the large grassland to the south-west of the Nat Kaung river. They reported that the bird visits pools in the grassland from the Thadingyut Festival (mid-October) onwards, that it keeps to itself and that it is never found together with other ducks. However, they described the bird as resembling domestic Muscovy Ducks Cairina moschata , which are widely kept in the area. Based on this description, these reports probably refer to White-winged Duck. On 28 October, the survey team met with the leader of Shaduzup village in the south-east of Hukaung Tiger Reserve, who claimed that he had recently seen an unusual duck while hunting in the Kamaing area, which he thought might be Pink-headed Duck. After detailed enquiries, however, it transpired that the bird he had seen resembled a domestic Muscovy Duck. Consequently, this report probably also refers to White-winged Duck. In addition to the various anecdotal reports received, one of the survey team (S.M.A.) had a possible but unconfirmed sighting of a Pink-headed Duck on Kyaw In (25 u 39 9 15 0 N, 96 u 41 9 15 0 E). At around 17h30 on 16 October, S.M.A. had a very brief (1–2 second) view of a duck with a whitish, unusually shaped head, contrasting with a sandy brown body with a white patch in the folded wing. S.M.A. felt that the bird was probably a Pink-headed Duck but that he was not certain. His description would seem to fit only an immature bird, and should be treated as a possible but unconfirmed record. Kyaw In is a narrow ox-bow, c . 600 m in length, which lies c . 750 m east of the Nat Kaung river. The western shore of the ox-bow was bordered by gallery forest, while the eastern shore was bordered by a large grassland. The ox-bow contained a large amount of ...