N'YROCA. 



91 



Australia, Mr. To.n Carter informs me that with the exception of Ncttion iiMnifrous it is the 

 commonest species of Duci< in the neighbourhood. Gould received it fiom Port Essington, in 

 the Northern Territory of South Australia. The late Count Castleneau and Dr. {•:. !>. Ram'say 

 record it from the Norman River, in the Gulf District, Northern Queensland, and from the 

 opposite side of the continent there is a specimen in the Australian Museum Collection obtained 

 by Mr. George Masters at Port Lincoln, in South Australia. It is common also in many parts 

 of New South Wales and Mctoria, and is frequently seen amongst other species e.xposed for 

 sale m the poulterers' shops of Sydney and .Melbourne, and where in my early collecting days 

 I have shot it in the neighbourhood of the latter city. 



Some adult males, probably very old birds, have the upper parts rich chocolate-brown 

 and the lower back as well as the rump nearly black. There is, too, a variation in the extent of 

 white on the apical portion of the central primaries ; in some specimens both webs are entirely 

 white, while others have the outer webs narrowly edged with brown ; the wing-measurement of 

 adult males varies from 8-65 to 9 inches. 



Writing under date 17th March, 1906. from Cunnamulla, South-western Queensland, Mr. 

 S. Robinson, remarked :-" Ny.vca anstraln breeds in Polygonum bushes; it must be in a very quiet 

 place and the bushes not too dense, so that they can see you before you get too close to them. 

 They leave the nest very quietly. Number of eggs laid nine or ten." 



The late Mr. K. H. Bennett, writing from Mossgiel, South-western New South Wales in 

 1S86, remarked :-"A^;w« „usty,Us, though somewhat widely distributed, is by no meLns 

 numerous, and is generally met with either in pairs or in small flocks of six or eight individuals 

 and as a rule, at any rate in this part of the country, does not associate much with other species 

 of Ducks, but IS generally found alone. It is an exceedingly shy and wary bird, and very 

 d.thcultto approach, and is rarely found in shallow water, preferring deep still reachesand pools 

 where it can exercise its great powers of diving. When compelled to take wing it rises with 

 d.thculty, running along the surface of the water, but when once on the wing it flies with creat 

 rapidity, and its flight is capable of being sustained for a long time. Of its nidiflcation I re-ret 

 I know nothing." '^ 



Mr. George Savidge sent me the following notes from Copmanhurst, Clarence River, 

 New South ^^^ales :-" The White-eyed Duck (Nyroca australis) is perhaps the commonest Duck 

 inhabiting the district, and may be seen on the large swamps on the Lower Clarence: also on 

 the clear stretches of water on the upper reaches of the river above Copmanhuist. It is a very 

 powerful flier, and when much shot at mounts very high in the air, and flies a great distance 

 before it settles again. I have seen very large flocks of these birds about Copmanhurst, and 

 have watched them quite close diving and searching for their food, the water soon becomin^^ 

 quite discoloured and muddy where they have raked up the bottom with their beaks. Althou^^h 

 they are such a common Duck, I have never found the nest or eggs." 



. ^/''°'" C'^'^^'^'^^h Station, Cobbora, New South Wales, Mr.^Thos. P. Austin writes me :- 

 '1 he Hard-head riVjm-,7.„sW.5) appears to have many habits just the reverse to the Pink- 

 eared Duck. They are always very wild, fly at a great height, and when disturbed usually fly 

 straight away for miles, but will probably return to their favourite water hole again durin- the 

 night They vary very much for table use; I have known them shot at certain lagoonslom 

 which they are anything but a good eating bird, from other lagoons they are equal to 

 the l,est of Ducks, and yet we could not notice any difference in other species of Ducks from 

 the same waters." 



From Melbourne, N'ictoria, Mr. G. A. Heartland wrote me as follows :-^' The White-eyed 

 Duck (Nyyoc, austmhs) is undoubtedly the most expert diver and fastest flier of our native -ame 

 buds. It IS quite amusing to watch a novice trying to shoot one. It seems to time the "flash 



