NATATORES. 875 



food. Gilbert states that, on the approach of man or the 

 report of a gun, this and the other species in company with 

 it rise altogether, but that each species separates itself into a 

 distinct flock during the act of rising. While on the water 

 it is quite silent, emitting no kind of noise ; but all the time 

 it is on the wing it gives utterance to a peculiar whistle. 



The stomach is extremely muscular, and the food consists 

 of small fish and aquatic plants. 



Some eggs brought to the settlement by the natives, and 

 said to belong to this bird, were taken early in March, from 

 nests built in long grass on the small islands adjacent to the 

 harbour at Port Essington ; they are of a creamy white, one 

 inch and seven-eighths long by one inch and a half in breadth. 



Crown of the head, line down the back of the neck, all the 

 upper surface, wings and tail brownish black, each feather of 

 the back broadly margined with deep buff"; wing-coverts deep 

 chestnut ; chin white ; sides of the head buffy white ; breast 

 deep buff, each feather crossed by a short bar of black ; abdo- 

 men chestnut ; line down the centre of the abdomen and 

 vent bufF, mottled with black ; under tail-coverts white ; flank- 

 feathers buffy white, margined on either side with two stripes, 

 the inner one of which is brownish black and the outer chest- 

 nut ; irides dark brown ; bill black ; tarsi greenish grey ; 

 feet blackish grey. 



Sp. 592. DENDROCYGNA EYTONI, Gould. 

 Eyton's Tree-Duck. 



Leptotarsis eytoni, Gould, MS. — Eyton^s Mon. of Anat., p. 111. 

 Dendrocijgna eytoni, G. R. Gray, List of Birds in Brit. Mus. Coll., 



part iii. p. 132. 

 Now-e-rdyen, Aborigines of Port Essington. 



Leptotarsis eytoni, Gould, Birds of Australia, foL, voL vii. pi. 15. 



I gave the specific name of eytoni to this fine bird as a just 

 tribute of respect to T. C, Eyton, Esq., a gentleman ardently 



