CIIKNONKTTA 



63 



back, r>iin/>, iipjiKr tdd-curi'rls niid fml hlm'k j Ir'sstr mnl in"ilniii iijiper irnir/ rofurts, /''rtiari'H and 

 scapiiliirs i/fi'i/, llic liiltKT lir(i<ull 11 inarriin/'d /I'if/i ri-lrr/;/ hlarh (in. thfir oiitfr irfhs ; //reafrr njuiu- 

 coverfs <{iirk qyij, ^'H''J''ly lij>j"'d ii-ilh irliiti', : loiinj s/it'cn/uin rto/v«,s- f/tf .-ircoii'liirii's brilliaiil 

 ylos^y-yri'fii, lln- npiail portion nj lltf outer seconjlarie^ irtiile ; prinuirifs dark hroivn, blackish on, 

 their outer )vel)x ; feathers of the breast (/rei/ish-n-hite at tlie base, bronui in the centre, bbickisli at the 

 sides, a'itJi a mmided n'ftite spot at the tip, qinnit this part a ntottled ajipearanr.e .■ centre of the htu^er 

 breast, abilomen ami n,itder tail-curerts ylossy black : sides of louver breast and flanks grei/, each feather 

 crossed ivith nntneroas nmry black lines; bill olire-hnnrii, : lei/s mid feet dark brou^it ; iris dark 

 broivn. 'I'lital lenijtli. ,iO'> inches, icimj lilf,'i, tail J/'-'i, bill 1'17, tarsus IS. 



Adult female. — General colnnr almre qreijish'broirn : outer ii'ebs of tlie seapniars blarkisli : 

 lo9ver part of the back, ramp and tail blm-k : upper tail-coverts yreyish-broim like, the back: iving 

 xpecnIuiH -not so bright (is in the male ,■ Iiead ami neck pale bro/ni, ; a niirrou) line uf feathers orer the 

 ei/e, and a broader one coniinencing near the base of tlie under mandible and. e.rtending underneath 

 the ei/e OH to the ear-corerts white, Jiiiely freckled irith pale broivn ; chin ami throat a-hite freckleil 

 ivith pale broani : breast and flanks bronin, darker on tin upper breast, paler on the flanks, each, 

 feather broadly tipped and crossed in the centre, irith ivhite : centre of the breast, abdomen and iimler 

 tail-coverts while. Total length IS inches. 



Distribntion. — North-western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Mctoria, South 

 Australia, Central Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania. 



|InN addition to affording:; capital sport in the tneld, and the excellence of its tlesh, the Maned 

 Jl Goose, or " Wood I )uci< " as it is more frequently called, is one of the handsomest and most 

 beautifully marked species of the family Anatiim: inhabitint; Australia and Tasmania. Although 



this bird is termed a " Wood 

 Duck " owing to its arboreal 

 habits, it is by no means confined 

 to timbered localities, and is 

 often found on the brackish 

 lagoons near the coast associated 

 with other species. The first 

 specimen I saw was a handsome 

 old male, shot in company with 

 Black Duck and Teal, between 

 St. Kilda and Albert Park, near 

 Melbourne. It is, however, more 

 abundantly distributed in the 

 wooded margins of rivers, creeks 

 and lakes inland, and occurs in 

 favourable situations over all 

 but the extreme northern por- 

 tions of the Australian continent, 

 and is found likewise in Tas- 

 mania. 



MANED GOOSE. 



In the early days of settlement 

 of New South Wales, large tlocks used to frequent the neighbourhood of Sydney, but owing 

 to the progress of civilization many of the feeding grounds have been cleared and drained, 

 and the birds driven to more congenial haunts. It is satisfactory to know that although 

 their numbers have largely decreased, it has not been wholly exterminated, and a few pairs still 

 breed, usually every season, within an hour's railway journey from the city. Dr. Latham lirst 

 figured this species in the Supplement to his " General Synopsis of Birds," in i8or, under the 



