﻿438 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. lOo 



white mottling, feet dull gray; gizzard contained vegetable matter; an adult in 

 fine fresh plumage. 



This magnificent duck is a bird of the larger savanna ponds. In 

 season it was relatively common locally, as many as 10 individuals 

 being seen at one time. Though recorded in April, June, July, August, 

 and December, it was during July that it reached its maximum 

 nmnbers in the area. 



The male collected was taken from a flock of eight, all males. 

 During the same morning six more males were seen feeding in the 

 flooded land adjacent to a large pond; the only hen seen in the 

 vicinity was with a drake on a small pond nearby. Early in the 

 afternoon of the same day four more (all females) were seen on a large 

 woodland pond. Judging by the separation of sexes, the collector 

 was led to believe that the hens might be incubating nearby. More- 

 over, the gonads of the male collected were greatly enlarged. 



This is evidently a quiet duck; the coUector never heard it utter 

 a sound. 



This bird was one of the prize waterfowl of the region. It appeared 

 very gooselike, whether in flight or on the water, an impression 

 somehow heightened by the large fleshy comb of the male. The bird 

 was very wary, generally flushing out of range and rarely circling back 

 to give the hunter a second chance. The male collected weighed 

 exactly 3 kg., a little over 6K pounds, which is probably close to the 

 maximum weight for the species, as the bird was very fat. Females are 

 markedly smaller. 



Local name, "pato carretero" (applied in literature also to the 

 Orinoco goose, Neochen jubata) . 



CAIRINA MOSCHATA (Linnaeus) 



Anas moschata Linnaeus, Systema naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, 1758, p. 124 (Brazil). 



SPECIMENS COLLECTED 



1 9 , Cantaura, December 2, 1947; gonads small; iris pale olive, biU black at 

 base and gray at tip, feet black; bird thin. 



1 unsexed [cf], San Tom6, April 27, 1949; iris dark tan, facial skin dull black 

 with red protuberances at edges, bill dull gray, black at base, feet black. Partial 

 specimen (head, one wing, and one foot). 



The female specimen is in a puzzling plumage, one that cannot be 

 matched by any of the series in the U. S. National Museum or by any 

 description the senior author has been able to find in the literature. 

 On the upperparts it is similar to a number of adult females seen but 

 completely lacks any white in the wings. The upper back, lower 

 back, rump, and upper tail coverts have a strong violet-copper sheen; 

 the wings have a green and bluish-green gloss, the two colors being 

 equally well developed. In other words, except for the complete 



