1917-] Letters, Ejctracts, and Notes. 117 



returned to the theory of two species. He concluded that 

 young birds coukl not fly at all, and that the volant indi- 

 viduals were really different in size and plumage from the 

 non-volant. He has repeated these observations in ' Tiie 

 Ibis ' for July, 1916. 



It so happens that Mr. W. S. Brooks has only recently 

 returned from the Falkland Islands in the interest of the 

 Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, Mass. At 

 my request he paid particular attention to Steamer Ducks, 

 and had ample opportunity to observe and shoot them and 

 handle a large series of specimens. I have been carefully 

 over his journal, and think that some of his observations 

 may be of interest at this time. Tiie Falkland Island 

 natives speak of the flying Steamer Duck as a " canvas- 

 back," but say such Ducks are rare. Mr. Brooks was 

 convinced that certain individuals do fly, although he did 

 not see the performance himself. He feels certain that the 

 adolescent theory is wrong. 



I extract freely from a letter of his, dated August 14, 

 1916 : — " Blaauw's T. cinereus has the orange-yellow bill in 

 both sexes. Of all the breeding birds seen by me (in the 

 Falklands) no female has a bill of this colour, and yet in the 

 Falklands I have no reason to doubt that some of them can 

 fly, for all the natives with whom I discussed the subject 

 agreed in this and referred to the flying form as the 

 ' canvas-back,^ a bird supposed to be lighter and more 

 bleached in appearance. 



" Now Blaauw's flying bird he claims is smaller, and the 

 female has a brown or black bill, similar to the Falkland 

 Islands birds in which flight is a great exception. Falkland 

 Islands birds also usually carry the tail upright, a character 

 which Blaauw gives for patachonicus. On the same page he 

 states that he has seen tlioe birds flying about the seashore, 

 as well as lakes. 



" I have frightened hundreds of them, but never saw 

 anything nearer actual flight than the body clear of the 

 water except the feet. 



" A male I took on February 5 at Port Stephens, "VV. F., 



