The Grey Duck 



iONSIDERING the compara- 

 tively large area of water 

 on Tutira, the run breeds a 

 very small number of Grey 

 Duck. Even in winter only 

 small parties stop for any length of time. 

 Large mobs resting on the lake, when shoot- 

 ing is going on elsewhere, invariably leave 

 after a few days. No doubt the food supply 

 of this breed is scanty, owing to the absence 

 of shallows in the lake. 



During the breeding season, perhaps 15 

 or 20 couples haunt its edges, though their 

 nests may be often at great distances from 

 water. Besides these, a few clutches are 

 hatched each season in the open riverbeds. 

 When, how^ever, the whole number breed- 

 ing on the place are counted, the result 

 works out to a duck to each five hundred 

 acres. As, moreover, a quarter of the run is 



