112 
ANAS SUPERCILIOSA 
and stayed around the ponds till December 17, when they disappeared, evidently 
making a local migration, perhaps to the neighboring seashore. 
The average longevity of 45 specimens in the London Gardens was 42 months, the 
maximum being nearly 16 years (P. C. Mitchell, 1911). The price in England before 
the war was about 30 shillings to £2 10s. per pair. In America they brought from 
$20.00 to $45.00 per pair. A recent price (November, 1920) in New York was even 
higher, namely $60.00 per pair. 
Hybrids. A wild hybrid sent to Buller in 1892 was at first supposed to be a 
cross with a Blue Mountain Duck (Hymenolcemus malacorhynchus) , but Buller 
(1905) as well as Salvador! (1895) now seem inclined to place it as a hybrid of Black 
Duck and Domestic Duck. Zietz (1912) has described fifteen wild hybrids between 
the Black Duck and the Gray Teal (Anas gibherifrons) and between the Black Duck 
and the Australian Shoveller (Spatula rhynchotis). In captivity it crosses readily 
with the Mallard, with the Indian Spot-bill (Anas poecilorhyncha) and the African 
Yellow-bill (Anas undulata). All these hybrids and various combinations of several 
of them are fertile, both inter se and with the parents (Poll, 1911). Mr. Le Souef 
writes me that in the Melbourne Gardens he has crossed them with Muscovy 
Ducks (Cairina moschata) and that the hybrids proved sterile, though they laid 
small eggs. 
GEOGRAPHICAL RACES 
It has long been noted by ornithologists that specimens of this duck from Polynesia are smaller 
than those from Australia, but the difference is not marked, and by some is not considered worthy 
of special recognition. Hartlaub and Finsch (1872), and Finsch (1875) separated birds from the 
Pelew Isles as a smaller race, but Salvador! (1895) did not recognize it. The truth is that birds from 
the whole of Polynesia, from Tahiti to the Pelew Isles are small, and probably belong to the same 
race, while a larger bird is said to occur in Savu, Timor and Sumba (Hartert, 1905). An intermediate 
race, described by J. H. Riley (1919) from Celebes seems to be larger than Anas superciliosa pelewensis 
and smaller than Anas s.rogersi. Birds from Australia and New Zealand are large, those from the 
latter being the largest of all. The various color difiFerences which have been used in describing 
these races seem to me of very doubtful value. It is possible that a large series, especially from out- 
lying islands, might clear up the situation, but at present only the following four races, one of very 
doubtful value, can be considered. 
ANAS SUPERCILIOSA SUPERCILIOSA Gmelin 
Anas superciliosa Gmelin, Linn6’s Systema Naturae, ed. 13, vol. 1, pt. 1, p. 537, 1788. 
Characters: Size large, wing 250-272 mm .? 
Range: Confined to New Zealand. 
(?) ANAS SUPERCILIOSA ROGERSI Mathews 
Anas superciliosa rogersi Mathews, Austral Avian Rec., vol. 1, p. 33, 1912. 
