Emperor Goose and the Australian Teal. 253 



longer than the time of incubation of Chen rossi. All the 

 five eggs hatched, but one of the chicks had a misformed 

 leg and did not live long. 



The chick in down is of a beantiful pearl-grey, darkest on 

 the head and upperside and lighter below. The legs and 

 bill are black. 



The chicks grew very fast, and in a few weeks were com- 

 pletely feathered. In the first feather-dress the biid 

 resembles the adults, but the grey is not so bluish. The 

 black markings on the feathers are only indicated, and the 

 coverts on the upperside are not so square, but more pointed. 

 The black throat is wanting, and so is the white head and 

 neck — these parts being grey like the rest of the body. The 

 tail is white. 



The bill is dusky bluish, flesh-colour at the base and black 

 at the tip. The legs are yellowish black. As soon as the 

 birds are full-grown they begin to moult, shedding all the 

 feathers except the large flight-feathers. The tail-feathers 

 are also moulted. 



At the end of October the young birds are quite grown, 

 and similar to the old birds. By this time the upper 

 mandible has got the beautiful blue and flesh colours of the 

 old birds, whilst the lower mandible has become black. The 

 legs are now orange. When the bird is moulting, the first 

 white feathers of the head to appear are near the base of 

 the i)ill. 



Mr, Mathews, in his splendid book on the ' Birds of 

 Australia,' vol. iv. pp. 98 & 113, is of opinion that the two 

 sexes of Nettion castaneum are alike in plumage, both sexes 

 having the male plumage. I have bred these birds for 

 several years, and I am sorry that I cannot confirm this 

 statement. 



The male is of a chestnut colour, with a beautiful bronze 

 and green head and a white spot on each side of the tail. 



The female answers the description given by Count 

 Salvadori in the ' Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum,' 

 vol. xxvii. p. 31. Young birds in first plumage resemble 



