172 Hknry, Paradise Duck at Resolutiun Island, N .Z. \ ^^^' 



\piil 



her straight up to the house to the food-box, and stand by 

 without eating a grain himself until she had finished. He was 

 a perfect gentleman. 



Later on she stayed away longer and longer, as if training 

 him to have patience, in view of the time when she was hatching. 

 At first I thought he knew nothing about the nest. I believe 

 now that he did, for he stayed here as if on duty to protect the 

 feeding ground for the family. He chased the Teal away 

 altogether, and he would not even let a Shag come into the 

 cove. The two Gulls used to insult him, but now they keep 

 wide of him, also the Wood-Hens. He used to run after the 

 Wood-Hens and hiss at them, but now he flies at them if they 

 come on the beach, and they cannot bear the sight of him. So 

 it is evident that he knows what he is about. All breeding 

 Paradise Ducks claim an exclusive right to their feeding ground, 

 and will fight all intruders. 



The female has her nest in a hole, because her beautiful white 

 head is always soiled with the earth where she touches it going 

 in and out, but it is not far in, because she is often scratching 

 her head, and the sand-flies will not go into dark places. She 

 would not have the slightest chance of saving an egg on Pigeon 

 Island if she left it unprotected for five minutes in the daytime, 

 there are so many Wood-Hens. If they once located the nest 

 they would watch there until she Jeft it, and then have the eggs. 

 We saw them at that with our Goose nest. And if she has gone 

 to a place where there are no Wood-Hens, there is not a scrap 

 of difference between her reason and knowledge and the very 

 best that a man could apply. She will need it all to rear a 

 family here. Imagine her swimming in a mile or two with the 

 little ones exposed to the rough sea and the ravenous sea birds, 

 and then the cunning, thieving Wood-Hens when she lands. 

 To be successful would be a task for all the highest qualities of 

 reasoning humanity. Yet I have no doubt those two Ducks 

 will rear a fair proportion of them, if the guns are kept out of 

 their field. Later on, when she came for food, she was always 

 in a nervous hurry, would gobble up a few mouthfuls, and take 

 him away with her, and sometimes she came and took him 

 away without touching her food. I thought she was trying to 

 teach her mate that he should take his turn at hatching, for one 

 day she came and did not call for him at all, but took a leisurely 

 outing. But he was either too blockheaded or wanting in 

 experience. 



She was about twenty days hatching before I even found out 

 the locality she was in, though I spared no pains to try and do 

 so whenever I was at home. I had cut a track on to a cliff on 

 the south side, so that I could go over quickly and see the way 

 she went. Several times I was too late, and when I did get 

 over in time the pair came flying along the south coast, going 



