DKNIiliUCV(;SA. G7 



abundant supply of food. On tlie approach of man or the report of a sun, this and the other 

 species in company with it rise akof,'ether, but that each species separates itself into a distinct 

 tlock durin:,' the act of rising;. While on the water it is quite silent, emitting; no kind of noise, 

 but all the time it is on the wing it gives utterance to a peculiar whistle." In N(jrth-\vestern 

 .Austialia Mr. G. A. I\eartland, wliile a member of the Calvert Exploring Expedition, in iSy6-7, 

 met with large llocks on the margins o( the pools near the Fitzroy Kiver, and remarked: — 

 "On several occasions I killed T)i-iidroc)X'iti cytoui and D. vaqans at the one shot, botli species 

 breeding freely in the coarse grass near Mr. Campbell's." 'I'liere are specimens in the Australian 

 Museum Collection obtained in Queensland, principally from Cardwell, the Ijurnett Kiver and 

 P<jrt I'enison, and where in llie same State, Mr. H. (j. liiarnard found it breeding at I\edclill, 

 on the Upper Dawson River, and at Coomooboolaroo, Duaringa. In I'ebruary, lyio, Mr. W. 

 McLennan observed a Hock of about three liundred, in a la'^ooii on I larramine Station, about 

 eighty miles south of Cloncurry. 



In New South Wales it is conhned chielly to the northern coastal districts of the State. In 

 the .\ustralian Museum Collection are specimens 1 purchased in the old Sydney Marlcets in 

 July, 1888, obtained in the Clarence River District, but I have never seen any of these E)ucks 

 in the poulterer's shops for a number of years past. 



There is the usual amount ol indi\idual variation lound m the adult plumai^eof this species. 

 In some specimens the margins of the feathers of the upper back and scapulars are reddish- 

 chestnut, in otliers they are ochreous-bult ; iii one example from Cardwell, North-eastern 

 Queensland, the longer scapulars are margineii with nchreous-bulf, and the shorter ones with 

 reddish-chestnut. In some specimens the throat and neck' is liutfy-white, in others pale rutous- 

 Iniff, like the fore-iieclc. Gould's figure of this species, in his folio edition of the " Ihrds of 

 .Australia," is a very good one of the lormer type. Others yet ajain exhibit a line of blackish- 

 br-'wn spots down the centre of the breast. Fhe wing-measurement of adults varies from 7-7 to 

 8'5 inches. 



Mr. G. A. Keartland sends me the hjllownv-; notes fnam iVIelbourne, Victoria: — " Across the 

 northern portion of .Australia WliistliuL; Ducks ( !JciidroiVi:iia aicitata) are usually plentiful. 

 During the night they Hy inland on the Mitchell-grass or Flinders-grass Plains and feed 

 but towards daybreak they frequent the rixers or lagoons for a bathe and drink, and then 

 cluster on the shady side of any thick bushes to sleep through the day, only moving when 

 disturbed or to escape the sun. When the Calvert Exploring Expedition was approaching the 

 Fitzroy River in North-western .Australia, we disturbed thousands of these birds from the plains, 

 and whilst camped near the river had no difficulty in shooting as many as were wanted. On 

 approaching any water a brown patch on the shady side of a tree or bush invariably proved to 

 be a number of these birds sleeping. They generally permitted us to approach within thirty or 

 forty yards before they moved, and then they stood up and gathered as close as possible together, 

 with bodies and heads erect, so that by taking a shot amongst their necks one cartridge always 

 secured enough to feed our party. They are long narrow birds, as long from bill to feet as a 

 Blade Duck, but as narrow as a Teal. Ijeing grass feeders their llesh is excellent. They breed 

 in i;reat numbers amongst the spinifex or coarse grass." 



The late Mr. George Barnard, of Coomooboolaroo, Duaringa, Queensland, kindly sent me 

 the following note relative to the nidification of this species : — " Coming home with cattle on the 

 25th May, 1890, my sons flushed a Duck of some sort off a nest in the grass too hurriedly to see 

 what it was, they lett it till next day, when one of them rode out to identify the species ; it proved 

 to be a ' Whistler ' ( Dcndi-Oiyi^iid ViT^ans). The nest was made in the grass, and without any 

 lining of leathers or down, and contained hfteen eggs in an early stage of incubation, several of 

 which he took. This Duck is very common in the neighbourhood, and is found frequenting the 

 large swamps, but this is the first time we have obtained the nest." 



