24 Mr. E. Gil)soii on the Ornithologij of [Ibis, 



peoiies wei'c lassooing a steer for the butclier-departnieiit 

 amongst the scattered trees on the verge of tlie head-station 

 woods, when the noise of tlie fray drove a Brazilian Teal oft' 

 her nest ; and one of the boys advised nie of the nniqne 

 incident. On examination I fonnd that tlie site adopted 

 was a previons year's nest of apparently the Yellow-breasted 

 Marsh-bird (I'seudoleistes virescens Vieill.), situated in the 

 to[) of a stunted tala tree about eight feet from the ground^ 

 flattened down somewhat by the weight of the sitting bird 

 and eggs, but without lining of any kind. 



The clutch of seven eggs (slightly incubated) is most 

 interesting. Pure white in colour, glossy, and inclined 

 to be spherical in form, they might mnch more easily be 

 attributed to an Owl than a Teal. The shell is not thick, 

 but of a chiua-likc hardness — the worst I ever employed 

 drill up )n. Average measurements 48x35 mm. 



350. Daflla spinicaiida Vieill. Brown Pintail. 



Iris dark-brown; bill varies from yellow or grecnish- 

 yelhnv to orange-yellow, with black culmen and tip ; legs 

 and feet olive-grey. 



The Brown Pintail is our commonest Duck, and is found 

 all the year round; but it is in the autumn that it is most 

 abundant, when there frequently occur flocks rivalling the 

 enormous masses of the Fulvous Tree-Duck [Dendrocygna 

 fulva Gm.), which I have already described. The thistle- 

 beds are a favourite resort when the seed is ripe ; also the 

 maize-flelds at the time the crop is being gathered and the 

 cobs collected in heaps. The consumption of the grain on 

 these occasions is of serious import, considering the size of 

 the flocks and their individual capacity, I cannot at the 

 moment recollect the amount counted from a shot bird the 

 crop of which burst on striking the ground, but it certainly 

 exceeded a large hamlful. It does not necessarily follow 

 that the above localities are solely favoured, for on the 

 ]5th of August (end of winter), 1902, 1 And myself writing 

 "Extraordinary number — many thousands — of Brown Pin- 

 tails in cnnada exteiuling from Monte del Tigre into the 



