158 Prof. Reinhardt^s Remarks on the Genus Balfeniceps. 



and lagoons on the coast, and occasionally one strays inland. 

 They appear to feed on insects. Their flight is heavy, and against 

 a strong wind they are able to make but little headway. 



PcECiLONETTA ERYTHRORHYNCHA (Gmel.). Red-billed Duck. 



Female. Iris dark brown ; ridge of the upper mandible dark 

 brown ; sides and base of the upper mandible, and also the lower 

 mandible pale or flesh-colour; tarsi and feet dark ash-colour; 

 webs nearly black. 



These Ducks inhabit the lagoons, and are not very common ; 

 they are less shy than most other wild- fowl here. The few that I 

 have seen have been either single or in pairs. 



[I regret to find that I have committed the error of enume- 

 rating this species twice, viz. as No. 62 in ' The Ibis,' vol. i. p. 251, 

 and as No. 142 in vol. iii. p. 134. — J. H. G.] 



Dendrocygna viduata (Linn.). White-masked Duck. 



Male. Iris dark brown ; bill black ; tarsi and feet bluish ash- 

 colour. 



I found a flight of about a dozen of these Ducks in a lagoon 

 near the mouth of the River Umlass in the month of June. They 

 were very wild, but after some trouble I got a long shot at them 

 with one of Eley's cartridges, and succeeded in bagging three. 

 They all varied in size and plumage, the one sent being the largest 

 and handsomest. When standing on a mud-bank, in consequence 

 of their rather long legs and necks they looked more like small 

 geese than ducks. In flight also they much resembled Geese ; 

 there was an evident inclination to form a regular figure; and 

 when they flew round near where I was concealed, they constantly 

 uttered a sort of whistling cackle. 



XIX. — Some Remarks on the Genus Balseniceps. By Dr. J. 

 Reinhardt, Professor at the Royal Museum of Copenhagen, 

 Foreign Member Z.S.L., &c., &c.* 



Opinions pi-etty much at variance respecting the affinities of this 

 genus have been propounded. Not to mention that Gould, when 



* Translated from the ' Transactions ' of the Royal Danish Scientific 

 Society for April 1861, pp. 135-154. 



