THE BLUE DUCK 333 



bank, from which they appear to watch the small fish, upon 

 w^hich they chiefly feed. Like the other birds on the lake, they 

 are by no means shy, cjuietly dropping into the water and swim- 

 ming away if approached too closely. Formerly, the black teal 

 was verv abundant in the Lower Waikato district. 



Family Mcrgaiiet tidae . 



Bill more or less compressed, the tail rather long and stiff. No 

 tooth-like serrations on the edges of the mandibles. Waigiou, 

 New Zealand, and the Andes. 



Genus Hymenolaemus. 



Bill as long as the head, furnished with a soft membrane for 

 half its length from the tip. Wings short, with large callosities on 

 the joints. No speculum. Hind toe strongly lobed. New Zealand 

 only. 



The Blue Duck.— Whig. 



Hymenolaem us ynalacorliynclius. 



Above lead blue ; below the same, spotted with rufous and varied with 

 white. Bill pinkish white, legs and feet dark brown, eye bright yellow. 

 Length of the wing. Din. ; of the tarsus, 1.8 in. Egg — Cream colour; 

 length, 2.7 in. Both islands, and formerly, it is reported by Captain 

 Bollons of the " Hinemoa," in the Auckland Islands. 



It was the opinion of Mr. Potts that the only way of seeing this 

 singular bird to advantage was by paying a visit to the moun- 

 tainous districts. "On a mountain torrent, where the foaming 

 water dashes from rock to rock in countless eddies," he writes, 

 "the blue duck lives at ease, making its way up or down stream. 

 Sometimes it may be observed basking in the sunshine, near a 

 shallow pool of the rapid streamlet. Sometimes it is a burrower, 

 and its nest may be found in a hole in a bank. ' ' He has found it 

 concealed from view by overhanging sprays of those various 

 alpine veronicas which sometimes make the mountain creeks gems 

 of beauty. The nest, like that of other ducks, is thickly lined 



