272 BULLETIN 130, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Winter.— Frof. W. W. Cooke (1906) says: 



It winters in Mexico at least as far north as central Vera Cruz (Vega del 

 Casadero) and Mazatlan. North of this district it is strictly migratory, and 

 throughout most, if not all, of its ranges in Central America there seems to be 

 a shifting of location between the winter and the summer homes, but no data 

 are available to determine the movements with accuracy. 



Since writing the above life history I have visited the Browns- 

 ville region in the lower Rio Grande Valley and made a special 

 effort to learn something about the two tree ducks, which were for- 

 merly so abundant there. I did not see a specimen of either species. 

 Capt. E. D. Camp, who has spent some 13 years in studying and 

 collecting birds in that region, told me that the black-bellied tree 

 duck had entirely disappeared from the Brownsville region and 

 that the fulvous tree duck had become very scarce. He took me 

 to a resaca where he had seen a pair of the latter this spring, 1923, 

 but we saw no trace of the birds. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Breeding range. — East to the Gulf coasts of Texas and Mexico. 

 South to Panama (River Truando). West to the Pacific coast of 

 Mexico (Mazatlan). North to southern Texas (lower Rio Grande 

 Valley) and irregularly north to Corpus Christi and perhaps Kerr- 

 ville. Known to breed in Porto Rico and Trinidad and probably 

 breeds in some of the other West Indies. 



Winter range. — Resident in most of its range. Winters at least 

 as far north as Vera Cruz and Mazatlan. 



Migratio7\s. — ^Arrives in Texas in April and leaves in September, 

 October, and November. 



Casual records. — Has wandered to Arizona (Tucson, May 5, 1899) 

 and southern California (Imperial Valley, fall, 1912). 



Egg dates. — Texas: Sixteen records, May 3 to October 18; eight 

 records, June 20 to July 14. 



DENDROCYGNA BICOLOR (Vieillot) 

 FULVOUS TREE-DUCK 



HABITS 



Messrs. Grinnell, Bryant, and Storer (1918) introduce this species 

 in a few well-chosen words as follows : 



The term tree duck, as applied to the fulvous tree duck, seems to be an al- 

 most complete misnomer for the bird. As regards structure this species 

 seems to be more closely related to the geese than to the ducks, and, at 

 least in California, it seldom nests in trees but chooses the extensive tule 

 marshes of our interior valleys. Birds apparently belonging to the same 

 species of tree duck that occurs in this State are found in South America, in 



