I40 BIRDS 



feed mostly on grass, they can be taught to eat the food 

 recommended for ducklings. 



The Chinese Goose (Cygnopsis cygnoides) has become 

 fully domesticated, and has given rise to distinct varieties, 

 one of which is pure white. The typical form is grayish- 

 brown in color, with a dark stripe down the back of the 

 neck. The beak is black, with a large, round knob at the 

 base, which is more conspicuous in the male. It is a 

 large bird and exceedingly noisy. 



The Egyptian Goose (Alopochen cegyptiacus) is very 

 common in captivity, and breeds so readily .that it may al- 

 most be said to have become domesticated. It is a hardy 

 and handsome bird, being in general reddish-chestnut above 

 and fawn below, with a chestnut patch on the abdomen, the 

 whole set off by the metallic black of wings and tail. Its 

 disposition, however, is so fierce and vindictive that it is 

 not safe in a mixed collection. The writer has known a 

 particularly savage male to kill an incubating Canada Goose 

 and a Black Swan, almost while the attendant's back was 

 turned. 



The Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) is in reality a 

 goose, and forms, with several allied species, one of the 

 suborders of that group. It has become perfectly domesti- 

 cated, and several color-varieties have arisen — pied, white 

 and lavender. 



The typical wild bird which is found throughout tropical 

 America is very uncommon in captivity. It is pure black 

 in color, with the exception of the upper and under wing 

 coverts and axillaries, which are white. A pair of these 

 birds, secured in Colombia, have bred in the New York 

 Zoological Park, the young being colored like their parents. 



The Muscovy drake is much larger than his mate, often 

 doubling her weight. He is often savagely inclined, and 

 not always safe in mixed collections. Muscovies hybridize 



