DKNliIiOCVfiSA. G9 



western New South Wales. It is e\clasi\ely a Iresh water Duck", and is generally met with in 

 the shallow water near the margins of swamps and rivers, except durini; the breeding' season, 

 when it resorts to well f;rassed countiy some distance from water. Livinp; chiefly on a ve^^etable 

 diet, which consists principally of the tender buds of various aijuatic plants and u'rasses, its tlesh 

 is much esteemed as an article of food, and for delicacy of llavour is considered by some to 

 surpass that of any other Ducic inlialiitinL,' Australia. DuriuL; some seasons one may frequently 

 observe hangiuLj at the doors or in the windows of our poulterer's shops in Sydney, numbers of 

 these birds. More especially fire they to be seen after an unusually heavy rainfall and Hoods, 

 and in dry seasons they are conspicuous by their absence, at least from the markets and shops 

 of the metropolis. 



Some specimens, apparently immature, have the dull white of the throat extendinj^ on to 

 the sides of the neclc, which is greyish-white ; also the upper portion of the foreneck ; the black 

 transverse barrings on the breast are narrow and less distinct, and the lanceolate Hank- plumes 

 have broader black'ish margins. Wing s-j inches. 



Mr. G. A. Keartland sends me the following notes from Melbourne, X'ictoria: — " It is a 

 common occurrence to find Eyton's Tree-l>uck' ( iJciidroivgiia cytoiii ) in company with the 

 Whistling E>uck. In fact on one occasion I killed fis'e of the former and six of the latter at one 

 shot. They are found in the same localities and are of similar habits to DcndrocvL^na arcuata." 



Mr. Tom Carter writes me: — '• Di-udrocywna cytoni is one of the commonest species of Duck 

 in North-western Australia." 



For an opportunity of examining and describing the eggs of I'^yton's Tree-Duck I am 

 indebteil to Mr. S. Robinson, an ardent sportsman and oologist, who found these birds breeding 

 near that famous resort of wild-fowl in New South Wales, the Macijuarie Marshes. While 

 shooting on Buckiinguy Station, on the 23rd September, 1893, in the long cane-grass about one 

 third of a mile from an ana-branch of the Mac(iuarie River, he flushed one of these birds, which 

 he ([uickly lired at, and it fell. As he moved forward to pick it up, he almost stepped on the 

 nest, which was l)uilt at the side of a tussock of cane-grass. It was a slight hollow in the soil, 

 lined only with short pieces of cane-grass, and contained nine fresh eggs. Evidently the Ducks 

 ii.id just begun to lay, for although twelve of them were obtained only one more nest was found 

 tliat day, which was similarly constructed and had two eggs in it. Later on, in the same locality, 

 another nest was found containing seven fresh eggs. From these nests the Ducks had made 

 runs or tracks throuj^h the long cane-grass to the water's edge. All the eggs when found 

 were perfectly clean, and entirely free from the usual feet marks of the female or stains of any 

 kind. Two average eggs from the set of nine are oval in form, tapering somewhat shar[ily 

 t'lwards the smaller end, and are comparatively small for the size of the bird. In colour they 

 are milk-white, with an almost imperceptible tinge of cream, and have a slight satiny lustre. 

 The shell is thick, smooth and exceedingly hard, and Mr. Robinson compared it to Hint when 

 he was engaged in drilling the eggs; they measure as follows: — Length (A) I'qi >■, 1-36 

 inches; (B) rSS x 1-36 inches. These eggs may be easily distinguished from those of any 

 member of the family ANATiD.t; inhabiting .Australia by their being almost pure white. When 

 held in the hand, and the shells are rubbed together, the sound produced is the same as if they 

 were made of porcelain. A set of ten eggs in Mr. G. A. Keartland's collection, taken on the 

 7th March, 1902, near the Daly River, in the Northern Territory of South Australia, are of a 

 milk white where the original colour is revealed, but they are much nest stained, some being of 

 a uniform, others of a partial brown hue. They measure: — Length (A) 1-97 x 1-45 inches; 

 (B) 1-92 X 1-48 inches; (C) 1-83 x 1-45 inches; (D) 1-98 x i'47 inches; (E) 1-95 x 1-45 

 inches; (V) 1-83 x 1-4 inches; (G) 1-95 x 1-5 inches; (H) i'94 x 1-49 inches; (I) 1-84 x 

 1-49 inches; (J) 1-9 x 1-52 inches. 



18 



