THE PARADISE DUCK 323 



reared, and the eloiuls of ducks that used to frequent the country 

 from the head of Lake Forsyth along- Birdling's Flat and Lake 

 Ellesmere to Taumutu were enormous." Twenty years ago. it is 

 also stated, even a good many grey ducks were reared in the 

 Akaroa creeks, and ten years later a brace or two still came, but 

 these breeding-places are now so often disturbed, and there are 

 so many bad sportsmen about who cannot resist shooting at a 

 wild duck at any season of the year, that the tribute of young 

 ducks from inland parts of the Peninsula to the coast has almost 

 ceased. ' ' In Gough 's Ba.y and other localities, where good sports- 

 men live," continues the Mail, "a few are still reared in peace; 

 but, where thirty years ago thousands reached maturity, only a 

 few now survive to attend the great autumn muster. ' ' 



Genus Casarca. 



Bill as long as the head, as wide as high at the base; not 

 broader at the tip than at the base. Second cpiill the longest. 

 Toes long, fully webbed; the hind toe elevated, lobecl. The 

 Eastern Hemisphere. 



The Paradise Duck. — Putangitangi. 

 Casarca variegata. 



Male — Head, neck, and breast, black; back, black, pencilled trans- 

 versely with white. Abdomen, ferruginous, pencilled with black. Wing; 

 coverts, white. Eye, black. Female — Head and neck, white; and the 

 breast, ferruginous, like the abdomen. Length of the wing, 14.5 inches; of 

 the tarsus, 2.5 inches. Egg — Pale cream colour; length, 2.75 inches. New 

 Zealand only. 



This bird is common in the South Island, but rare in the 

 North Island. It is remarkable that the female, with its white 

 head, should be more conspicuous than the male, notwithstanding 

 that it sits upon the eggs. The young, however, resemble the 

 male, which is another important peculiarity. Their usual 

 breeding-place is in the wide river-beds of the South, but they 

 sometimes build in trees. The old birds are as good adepts at 



