BlTBLnr NATURAL HT8T0BT SOCIETY. 77 



species. On further inquiries, Mr. Townsend informs me, that numerous small 

 flocks of teal were occasionally seen feeding in the same locality, and that the 



f>er8on who shot the bird imagined the flock to be teal, and was, therefore, not 

 ed to examine them more carefully ; but the impression made was, that they were 

 all the same. After being fired at, they- flew to the eastward, in Castlcmaine har- 

 bour. It is not probable that a solitary stranger, 'among a flock either of teal 

 or of widgeon, would be the victim. The generic name, Malacorynchus, appears 

 to have been established by Swainson, the bill being similar to the Chauliodus, 

 common gad wall, but, having the substance soft, the tips of the upper mandibl« 

 on each side being furnished with a loose angular skin or membrane, the finely 

 pectinated laminae of the upper mandible are, like the shoveller (Anas clypeata), 

 prolonged beyond the margins. These singular membranaceous appendages to 

 the mandibles give it the specific name. There appears to me some confusion in 

 the adoption of generic names, as was Chauliodus of Swainson, for the gadwall 

 adopted by Selby and other authors, already adopted as a genus of fish by 

 Schnieder, and was adopted by Cuvier, in the Ichthyology of his Le Regno ani- 

 mal. The Chauliodus belongs to the Esocidae — Pike family ; Chauliodus being 

 the only species known of that fish, and never was taken except at Gibraltar. 



This small duck, the Malacorynchus membracaneus, now recorded as visit- 

 ing this country, has hitherto not been known out of Australia. It is termed 

 *♦ Wrongi" in New South. Wales, and is by no means of common occurrence. 

 The colonists of Swan River call it the Pink-eyed duck, from an oblong mark of 

 rose pink immediately beneath the dark patch surrounding each eye ; the irides 

 are a dark reddish-brown, and the tarsi a yellowish brown. It is remarkable in 

 having the neck, breast, and all the under parts crossed by numerous dark 

 brown fasciae. The sexes are similar in plumage, the male being onlv distin- 

 guished by being of larger size. This beautiful barring of the neck and breast is 

 peculiar to some of the Natatores, and strikingly seen in the Magellanic goose 

 (Chloephaga Magellanica), the Antarctic goose (Bernicla Antarctica), and also 

 the ashy-headed goose of the Falkland Islands (Chloephaga inornata). In the 

 southern latitudes of Australia the membranaceous duck frequents the fresh- wa- 

 ter lagoons, in company with the green-necked duck and the New Holland sho- 

 veller (Spathulea rhynchotis), the shovel-nose duck of the colonists. The latter 

 is closely assimilated to the Spathulea clypeata of Europe. Another beautiful 

 little species, Malacorynchus fosterorum, frequents the mountain streams of the 

 interior. It is the •* Wiho" of New Zealand, being a pretty black duck with a 

 ■white bill, and remarkable for its shrill whistle. As I have before mentioned, the 

 specimens of the membranaceous duck in the British Museum were sent home 

 by Governor Captain Grey, whose extensive knowledge of Australia will afl'ord 

 ample means of obtaining most valuable records of the productions of that coun- 

 try. Captain Grey, late of the 83rd regiment (now Sir Charles Grey), was ap- 

 pointed by Lord John Russell, when Secretary of State for the Colonies, to suc- 

 ceed Lieutenant-Colonel Gawler, from the great talents he possessed and his ar- 

 dent pursuit of knowledge. Having now submitted to you this addition to the 

 ornithology of this country, I am not so much surprised at this instance, from 

 the notices already, and but very recently recorde I, of many rare birds, such as 

 the spotted eagle (Aquilanasvia) of Eastern Europe and of Africa; thebee-eater 

 (Merops apiaster) ; great spotted cuckoo (Cuculus glandarius) ; the roller (Co- 

 racias garrula); golden oriole (Oriolus galbula); squacco heron (Ardea co- 

 mata); the common crane (Grus cinerea) ; and the Dusky shearwater (Puffinus 

 obscurus), with others ; and now that the taste for the natural sciences is more 

 widely difi^using, we may look forward to and expect in its several branches 

 equally interesting additions to our Fauna. 



Mr. Montgomery exhibited specimens of the great cinereous shrike (Lanius 

 excubitor), and the black-capped warbler (Motacilla atricapilla), both shot by 

 him in BeauUeu Wood, county of Louth. The latter, though not uncommon, was 

 the first time he had met it in that county. The shrike, or butcher bird, was 



