330 THE ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND 



rufous. Wing-coverts and a longitudinal stripe on the wings ash-grey. 

 Eye, bright yellow. Female — Brown. Length of the wing, 9.8 in. ; of the 

 tarsus, 1..3 in. Egg — Greenish cream-colour; length 2.1 inch. Australia, 

 Tasmania, New Zealand, and the Chatham Islands. 



The shoveller, or spoonbill duck, is common in both islands, and 

 frequents the muddy shores of lakes and streams. It feeds on 

 small aquatic insects, which its large bill is well adapted to catch. 

 It is essentially a surface feeder, and never dives for its food. 



According to Mr. Gould, the New Zealand male bird has more 

 white on the sides of the lower neck and breast than is seen in 

 those from Australia. 



]Mr. Potts says that this bird is very evenly distriliuted over 

 the country, although large numbers are to be met with only in 

 certain localities in the North Island, where it is of common 

 occurrence. For some years after settling in Canterbury, he 

 regarded the bird as quite a rara avis, but later on it was seen 

 nmch oftener than formerly. The nest is made of fine grass, lined 

 with a small quantity of down, and is sometimes placed on the 

 side of a hill far away from water. 



Family Fuligulidae. 

 Bill more or less depressed, the hind toe broadly lobed. 



Key to the Genera. 



Bill not wider at the tip. Nyroca. 



Bill rather wider at the tip Fulignla. 



Genus Nyroca. 



Bill not distinctly wider near the tip than at the base ; neither 

 very broad nor short. Cosmopolitan. 



The White- winged Duck. — Karakahia. 

 Nyroca aiistralis. 



Head and neck dark reddish brown, back and abdomen brown, lower 

 breast and under tail-coverts white, wing feathers white, tipped with 

 brown; the speculum white. Bill black, with a slate coloured band near 



