AQUATIC FOWL. 151 



of their extent ; the naked extremity of the bill is black ; the 

 broadly-expanded cere, of a lig^it straw or lemon colour; the 

 irides light hazel ; the naked part of the legs reddish orange ; 

 and the toes, together with their web and claws, and a streak 

 passing from some little distance up the fore part of the leg, black. 

 It is abundant in some parts of New Holland, and from its being 

 so about Cape Barren, has obtained the name of Cape Barren 

 goose. Cape Barren is one of the largest of Farneaux's group, in 

 Bass's Strait. In a state of nature its manners and habits resem- 

 ble the wild geese of the northern hemisphere, and is more or less 

 migratory, being met with at particular seasons more abundantly 

 than at others. It is by no means so wary as our northern geese, 

 many, when first seen, having permitted themselves to be taken 

 by the hand, and others knocked down with sticks, and some 

 secured alive. The flesh is found to be excellent. It feeds, as 

 our common variety, on grass and corn, and weighs from seven 

 to ten pounds. 



The sheildrake being a disputed point, between naturalists, as 

 to its proper position, whether among the geese or ducks, I give 

 it an intermediate place, as a link between both, after which I 

 shall endeavour to describe the true ducks. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



DUCKS. 



THE SHEILDRAKE, BARROW DUCK, SKEELING GOOSE, 



Stands on disputed grounds, as to whether it should be classed 

 with the geese or ducks, some asserting that the knob on the 

 beak, entitles it to the first position, while others say the speculum 

 or beauty-spot, on the wing, reduces it to the class of ducks ; in 

 either case, it is, perhaps, the most elegant of our water-fowl, 

 being the most beautiful and clean-looking of the entire. The 

 male bird weighs two pounds, ten ounces ; the length is two feet ; 

 the breadth three and a half; the bill is of a bright red, and at 

 the base swells into a knob, which is most conspicuous in the 

 spring ; the head and upper part of the neck, are of a fine, blackish 

 green; the lower part of the neck white; the breast and upper 

 part of the back are surmounted with a broad band of bright, 

 orange-bay ; the coverts of the wings, and the middle of the back 



