

OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 217 



Why this bird has such a rank flavour I can hardly tell, its 

 food consists of fresh- water molluscs, Physa, Lymnea, small Unios,. 

 and Cyclas, with the soft fleshy stems of water- weeds and flags, 

 which they pull up with their powerful bills, and bite the ends off 

 near the roots. The eggs of the Musk Duck are two in number, 

 about three inches in length, of a pal ! greenish ground colour, and 

 rough to the touch. The nest is made of water-weeds, and placed 

 amongst the flags and sedges in the lagoons and lakes, often at a 

 considerable distance from the land. 



All the other species before mentioned, from No. 1 to 6 inclu- 

 sive, are considered very palatable. 



In the northern parts of the colony a large quantity of game birds 

 abound, but there, every one who cares for it, seems to be his own 

 caterer, and few are ever seen offered for sale in the townships. 

 In the Rockhampton district I noticed large flocks of the Pigmy 

 Goose, Nettapus albipennis ; the Whistling Duck, Dendrocygna 

 vagans ; and Eyeton's Wood Duck, Leptotarsus eyetoni ; also, the 

 beautiful white-headed Shieldrake, Tadorna rajah, o .e of the most 

 beautiful species known. I found all these sj ecies and Bernicla 

 juba'a plentiful also, on the lagoons near the mouth of the Bur- 

 nett river. The Pigmy Goose, and the large semi-pal mated goose, 

 Anseranas melanoleiica, are also found tolerably plentiful in the 

 Clarence and Richmond River Districts. The latter is occasion- 

 ally offered for sale in the city, but is not very palatable. On the 

 other hand, the Pigmy Goose is considered quite equal to the Teal 

 and Black Duck, which are looked upon among the best for the 

 table. 



In addition to the various species of the Anatidae which are 

 exposed for sale as articles of food, and looked upon as game 

 birds in Australia, are several species of Plover — 



The Spur Wing, Lohivanellas lobatvs. 



The Black-breasted Plover, Sarciophovus pectoral'is. 



The Stilted Plover or Australian Stilt, Hlmantopus Icuco- 

 cepludus. 



The Avocet, Recurvirostra rubricollisj and 



The Banded Stilt, Chladorhynclms pectoralls. 



