116 Letters, Extracts, and Notes. [Ibis, 



IX. — Letters, Extracts, and Notes. 



The Steamer Duck. 



Sir, — May I be allowed space for a few remarks on tlie 

 Steamer Duck with reference to Mr. Blaauw's recent paper 

 ('Ibis,' 1916, p. 478) on South American Anatidal 



To recapitulate : this Duck, discovered in 158.2 by Pedro 

 Samiento, and noted by other travellers as Race-horse Duck, 

 Loggerhead Duck, etc., was finally given its name. Anas 

 cinerea, by Gmelin in 1788. 



Captain King in 1830 separated the species into a volant 

 and a non-volant form (P. Z. S. p. 15), and the former became 

 known as patachonicus, the latter as brachypterus. Since 

 then the volant form has been subjected to criticism from 

 various sources. Cunningham (Tr. Zool. Soc. vii. 1871, 

 pp. 493-501) was satisfied that only one species existed, and 

 made the suggestion that the flying birds were adolescent 

 individuals. He worked out the theory by skeleton material. 

 Captain Abl)ot found a volant individual nesting, so that it 

 was apparent that on Dr. Cunningham's theory adolescent 

 Steamer Ducks nested before maturity. The Princeton 

 Expedition to Patagonia, after a careful study of the speci- 

 mens in the British and French Museums, came to the 

 conclusion that Cunningham was right in so far as only one 

 species of Tachyeres existed ; they thought that the young 

 birds did not attain full plumage imtil the second, and 

 perhaps the third, year of life, and that the fiist breeding 

 was probably accomplished in the phase of plumage called 

 patachonicus by Oustalet. They did not meet with tlie 

 Steamer Duck themselves, and added nothing new to our 

 knowledge of the species. 



Passler (Ornith. Monatsbr. 1909, p. 103) noted flying 

 Steamer Ducks on the west coast in the vicinity of Chiloe. 

 He tells us that these Ducks can and do fly for a short 

 distance when cornered by boats against the land. He saw 

 flights of 500 to 1000 metres. 



Blaauw (Notes Leyden Mus. xxxv. 1912, p. 47) again 



