July 29, 1880] 



NA TURE 



295 



far beyond any that might be expected, and they expose 

 altogether the fallacy about the value of alcohol when 

 with large quantities of water it has been administered as 

 a supposed life-sustaining food. 



B. W. R. 



WATERFOWL^ 



ONE of the principal objects of these lectures being 

 the illustration of the animals exhibited in the 

 Society's Gardens, I have selected for my address to you 

 this day the subject of " Waterfowl," by which I mean 

 the Anscrcs, or family AnaiidcB, of naturalists, commonly 

 known as ducks, geese, and swans. Three familiar 

 species of domestic birds, the names of which I have just 

 cited, belong to this family, and have been known to us 

 since the times of the Romans, and a fourth, the Mus- 

 covy duck, has been added to the series since the disco- 

 very of America. Besides these four domestic species 

 nearly all waterfowl show great aptitude for semi-domes- 

 tication. When pinioned and put in small ponds, and 

 supplied with food and shelter, most of thenr will thrive, 

 and many of them will breed in captivity. 



The acquisition of waterfowl has long been a subject of 

 special interest to this Society. In 1830, in thefirst list of our 

 animals ever published, I find thirty species of waterfowl 

 included, amongst which are the Orinoco goose, Man- 

 darin duck, and the Cercopsis goose. In 1S44 I find 

 twenty-six species included in the catalogue of the animals 

 then living in the Gardens. About that time the thirteenth 

 Earl of Derby, then president of this Society, was the 

 great patron of waterfowl, and, by means of collectors 

 and agents in all parts of the world, brought together in 

 his celebrated menagerie at Knowsley one of the finest 

 collection of these birds ever made. At the disposal of 

 the Knowsley menagerie by auction in 1S51, examples of 

 5 1 different species of waterfowl were sold, many of which 

 had been bred in the Knowsley Gardens. 



Since that period the Zoological Society, having become 

 the possessor of some of the choicest specimens sold at 

 Knowsley, has taken up the subject of waterfowl with 

 increased vigour, and has succeeded in adding consider- 

 ably to the list of introduced species. During the past 

 twenty years there have been exhibited in the Society's 

 Gardens examples of 86 species of this group of birds, 

 and at the present time the collection consists of not less 

 than 270 individuals, referable to 53 different species, 

 forming, as we believe, the finest living series of these 

 birds now in existence. The zoological gardens of 

 Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Berlin, and the Jardin 

 d'Acclimatation of Paris have also excellent collections 

 of waterfowl, and have succeeded in breeding some 

 species which have obstinately refused to avail them- 

 -selves of the inducements we have offered them in these 

 Gardens. But in extent and variety I believe our series 

 remains pre-eminent. 



The total number of species of the family Anatidse at 

 present recognised by naturalists is about 175 ; of these 

 some 94, or more than half, have been at various times 

 represented by specimens held in captivity either in our 

 Gardens or elsewhere, and of the species thus exhibited 

 no less than 50 have paired and produced young. 



Of the nine groups or sub-families into which, as 

 will be seen by the Table, the Anatidce are divisible, 

 the Anatina: or geese, swans, and river-ducks show 

 the greatest aptitude for this kind of semi-domesti- 

 cation. The sea-ducks, lake-ducks, torrent-ducks, and 

 mergansers are much more wild in their nature, and do 

 not thrive nearly so well in confinement. Of the 31 

 known species of sea-duc'^s (ft///>«///;tt-) but 13 areloiown 

 to have been exhibited in zoological gardens, and of 

 ■these only 5 have reproduced in captivity. None of the 



' .Abstract of a " Davis Lecture" given befjre the Ziohgical Society of 

 London. July 8. iSSo, by P. L. S. later. F.R.S.. Sec.-i:tary t . the Society. 



lake-ducks {Erisinafunna) or torrent-ducks {Merganet- 

 tina:) have ever been introduced alive, and none of the 

 Mergansers {Mcrgiii-cc) have been bred in captivity, 



r Tabic of Watcr-finul . > ' _ 



Species 



1. Anseranatinre 



2. Cercopsince 



3. Anserui.t; ... 



4. Cygnin^E 



5. Auatins 



6. Fuligulinje ... 



7. Erismaturina; 

 S. Merganettins 

 9. Mergina: ... 



174 94 5° 



although examples of three species of the last-named 

 group have been occasionally exhibited. 



Of the geese(^;/.f£7-/«(?),on the other hand, which number 

 some 38 known species, no less than 25 have been intro- 

 duced at various times, and of these 14 have reproduced in 

 captivity. Amongst these one of the best introductions 

 effected by the Society is that of the Magellanic or 

 upland goose, of which examples were first received in 

 1857, presented by Capt. Thomas Moore, at that time 

 Governor of the Falkland Islands, in which settlement, 

 as we know from no less an authority than that of Mr. 

 Darwin, the upland goose is a familiar species. The 

 upland goose commenced to breed with us in 1863, and 

 has continued to do so with tolerable regularity ever 

 since ; it has also hybridised in this country with the 

 closely-allied form from Chili, which has been called 

 Bernicla dispar, and of which many examples have been 

 received by the Society in recent years. 



Besides the upland goose, the allied ruddy-headed and 

 ashy-headc-d geese of -Antarctic America have been ac- 

 quired and successfully bred. The ruddy-headed goose has 

 unfortunately been lost, and requires reintroduction, but 

 its ashy-headed brother remains a denizen both of these 

 Gardens and also of similar establishments on the 

 Continent. 



Passing on to the swans, we find that a still greatei 

 degree of success has been obtained in the acclimatisa- 

 tion of these birds. Ten species of swans are recognised 

 by naturalists, of Avhich eight have been introduced into 

 zoological gardens and five have been bred in captivity. 

 Besides the common tame swan which is upon every 

 piece of water, the ponds of our Gardens contain 

 at the present time e.xamples of the hooper, Bewick's 

 swan, trumpeter swan, black swan, and black-necked 

 swan, and but a short time ago we had also examples of 

 the Ijeautiful Coscoroba swan of Antarctic America, 

 remarkable for its coral-red bill. Of all these the most 

 engaging is perhaps the black-necked swan, originally 

 obtained by the late Lord Derby from Chili, and first 

 acquired by this Society at the dispersal of the Knowslev 

 collection in 185 1. A pair of these [birds first bred with 

 us in 1S57, and the species has continued to do so with 

 more or less regularity ever since that date. 



The river-ducks {Ana/ina'), which succeed the swans 

 in the. natural series, are the most numerous group of the 

 family. Of the seventy-five known species of river ducks 

 forty-three have been introduced into captivity, and 

 twenty-five have been successfully bred. Of these I will 

 call particular attention to two which have been recently 

 added to the list of introduced species, and are charming 

 representatives of the group. 



The rosy-billed duck of South America was first intro- 

 duced by this Society from Chili in 1S67, but only, un- 

 fortunately, in the shape of a single male. In 1870, 

 however, we obtained examples of both se.xes from the 

 same locality, which began to breed with us in 1S73. 

 Since then young ones have been hatched nearly every 



