108 
ANAS SUPERCILIOSA 
Duck is a very early breeder, usually commencing in July and continuing until the 
end of December or the end of January, sometimes even into March and April, 
depending on the rainfall (North, 1913). In Queensland fresh eggs have been taken at 
the end of October and April (North, 1913), but the regular season there appears to 
be from January to April (Berney, 1907). July and August seem to be the usual 
breeding months in Tasmania (Mathews, 1914-15), though Legge (1905) speaks of 
young two weeks old being taken there in March. In central Australia young have 
been found in May and June (North, 1896). In northern Australia they breed mostly 
in May, a few in March and April (D, Le Souef, 1903), while in northwestern 
Australia fresh eggs have been found in January and February and young in late 
June and August (North, 1898). Carter and Mathews (1920) say the birds breed 
from July to September in southwestern Australia, and White (in Mathews, 1914- 
15) gives August and September as the breeding season in South Australia. For New 
Zealand there are records for September, October and January (Buller, 1888, 
1905). A nest was found on New Caledonia on October 15 (E. L. and E. L. C. 
Layard, 1882) and on Sunday Island, Kermadec group, nests were taken on Octo- 
ber 1 and 22 (Oliver, 1913). In the Bismarck Archipelago it is said to breed during 
the southeast monsoon, but not during the northwest (W. Meyer, 1909), 
Unfortunately I never saw my own birds display, nor do I know of any satis- 
factory description of the behavior during the mating period. In spite of the un- 
specialized plumage of the male he evidently has a definite type of display, for 
Finn (1919) noticed that they reared up and courtesied like a Mallard, and Heinroth 
(1911) also remarked the resemblance between the display in this species and in 
the Mallard. 
Most writers agree in saying that where hollow trees, especially the red gum, are 
available, these ducks take advantage of elevated situations in which to build the 
nest. Very often, however, they nest on the ground, either in rushes near the 
water, on tussocks or on the open plains. They are even fond of standing crops for 
nest cover (White, in Mathews, 1914-15). There are many instances of their choos- 
ing the abandoned nests of crows, ravens, magpies and even in one case the nest of 
an eagle-hawk. In New Zealand they seem to nest in trees less frequently than in 
Australia (Buller, 1888; Hutton and Drummond, 1905). Nests located in trees are 
usually at low elevations, but some have been found as high as twenty and even 
forty feet (Avicultural Mag., ser. 1, vol. 8, p. 74, 1902). 
The size of the clutch is variable and may depend on the rainfall and consequent 
food supply. One writer (Travers, 1872) thinks the brood barely exceeds five, but 
others place it all the way from six and seven to eight or ten. Mathews (1914-15) 
regards thirteen as the maximum. A. C. Stone (1912) speaks of fifteen as the maxi- 
mum, and Buller (1905) reeords a nest found in New Zealand containing seventeen 
The nest was on the top of Cook’s Rock in Mercury Bay, in a natural hollow 
