Tree-Ducks 183 



This bird spends the summer in Patagonia and in winter migrates northward to 

 southern Argentina, appearing on the pampas in small flocks or occasionally in 

 parties of one or two hundred. Other species are the Andean Goose (C. melanop- 

 tera), an inhabitant of the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia and the central prov- 

 inces of Chile, coming down to the plains in winter; the Upland Goose (C. 

 magettanicd) of the Falkland Islands and Patagonia, and the Barred Upland 

 Goose (C. inornata), a northern form of the last, found in Chile and Argentina. 



Maned Goose. The account of the Geese may be closed with a brief mention 

 of the handsome Maned Goose (Chenonetta jubata) of Australia, which is so named 

 from the presence of lengthened black plumes on the back of the neck. It is 

 only about twenty inches long and has the plumage a mixture of velvety black, 

 gray, white, and glossy green. It usually nests in hollow trees, often at a distance 

 from water, and feeds on grasses, aquatic plants, snails, and insects. 



The Ducks. Brigaded together under the general but well-understood name 

 of "Ducks" are a great variety of forms, not all of which, however, agree quite 

 with the abstract idea of what a' "Duck" should be. Broadly speaking, the 

 Ducks are distinguished by having the neck shorter than the body, a broad, 

 more or less flattened, "Duck-like" bill, and the front of the tarsus with narrow 

 transverse plates, and shorter than the middle toe. Most of them conform to this 

 plan, but at the outset we meet with a group the so-called Tree-Ducks which 

 afford more or less of a transition between the true Ducks and the Geese, since 

 in these the lower part of the tarsus in front is without the transverse plates, but 

 covered with small, reticulated scales. In their main characters, however, the 

 Tree-Ducks agree with the Ducks and are perhaps best placed with them, although 

 in voice and vegetarian habits of feeding they certainly suggest the Geese. 



The Tree-Ducks (Dendrocygna} number about ten species and enjoy a very 

 wide, though mainly tropical, distribution. They have rather long necks and 

 legs, short and rounded wings and short tail, and the plumage is either spotted 

 and speckled or uniform with the different colors arranged in definite areas. 

 In length they range from about sixteen to some twenty-four inches, and the 

 sexes are very nearly alike. In habits they are mainly arboreal, perching readily 

 on the limbs of trees, shrubs, or even stalks of corn. One of the most remarkable, 

 at least as regards its distribution, is the Fulvous Tree-Duck (D.fulva), or Whis- 

 tling Teal, as it, or its near ally, is called in India. It is found from the southern 

 border of the United States through Mexico, then skipping Central America and 

 Amazonia, it ranges from Venezuela and Peru to Argentina. Thence, according 

 to Salvador! and others, it is found from tropical Africa and Madagascar through 

 the Indian peninsula to Burma ; but it seems more than probable that the Old 

 World form is distinct, in which case it should be known as the Dendrocygna 

 major of Jerdon. It is also possible that the South American bird, which is 

 brighter colored and larger, is subspecifically separable from the northern bird, 

 but in any case the three forms are close, if not indeed identical, and it is as 

 difficult to explain the geographical distribution of the three as of one. It has 

 been suggested that the bird was originally a native of the Old World and was 

 brought by slaves from Africa to America, but this is unsupported by any evidence. 



