The Key to Scientific Names
- Polionetta
(Anatidae; syn. Anas †Indian Spot-billed Duck A. poecilorhyncha) Gr. πολιος polios grey; νηττα nētta duck; "The Grey Ducks differ from the True Ducks in so many important respects that I am obliged to regard them as a very distinct group. They have given up their migratory habits and have become localised. As a consequence, they require to fly less, and the wing is therefore more blunt than in the True Ducks, as indicated by the greater length of the outer secondaries ... There is no genus in which the Grey Ducks can be placed, and I therefore propose the name Polionetta for them, with Polionetta pœcilorhyncha as the type of the genus." (Oates 1899); "Polionetta Oates, 1899, Manual of the Game Birds of India, Pt. II, p. 149. Type, by original designation, Polionetta poecilorhyncha, i.e. Anas poecilorhyncha J. Forster, 1781." (JAJ 2021).