264 
ANAS GIBBERIFRONS 
Association with other Species. Keartland (in North, 1913) says the Gray 
Teal frequently associates with ducks of other species. Flocks of Gray Teal are 
sometimes accompanied by Chestnut-breasted Teal. 
Voice. There is no adequate account of the call-notes in the two sexes. The 
female, it seems, utters a quick, sharp, quacking note, repeated six or eight times. 
According to Mellor (in Mathews, 1914-15) it sounds like cack-cack-cack, and is 
most commonly heard from birds on the wing at night. The male’s note he de- 
scribes as a “sharp little whistle, repeated in a jerky fashion in answering his mate.” 
The trachea of the male has a distinct membranous pouch not very different 
from that of the Mallard. It was figured by A. Newton (1871) who thought he was 
dealing with a female of Anas castanea. 
Food. The food of this species has not yet been much studied. A few notes in 
the pages of The Emu and some unpublished MS. sent to me by Mr. Arthur M. Lea 
show that they take both animal and vegetable matter. Minute mollusks resembling 
a Cantharadis, other “river shells” and numerous “dock” seeds make up the list. 
Courtship and Nesting. We do not know whether there is a definite type of 
display comparable to that characteristic of many northern ducks. As with all 
Australian ducks the breeding season is so irregular that no generalization is possible. 
Eggs have been taken in every month of the year, but the bulk of the nesting takes 
place after an unusually heavy rainfall, wherever surface water stays for any 
length of time. In eastern Australia, August and the four following months con- 
stitute the usual breeding season (North, 1913), and in West Australia it is said to 
nest later than the Australian Black Duck (Carter, in Mathews, 1914-15). In the 
Moree district of New South Wales it nests for fully nine months (F. C. Morse, 1922). 
Wherever trees are available this Teal prefers to nest in hollow branches or 
trunks, especially in various species of gum trees. These nests may be twenty feet 
above the ground, and often are some distance from the water. Lacking these ele- 
vated situations the birds will nest on the ground, sometimes under a bush at a 
distance from the water, at other times in rushes or reeds near the edge of a swamp 
(North, 1913). 
The clutch may vary from five to twelve eggs, the average being seven or eight, 
and the maximum fourteen (Macgillivray, 1914; A. C. Stone, 1912). As many as 
seventeen eggs have been found in one nest. The eggs are of a uniform cream color, 
close-grained and smooth. In size they vary from 47.5-51.6 by 34.8-38.6 mm. The 
incubation period is unknown. The male probably accompanies the brood after 
hatching. At least I am led to infer this from Carter’s notes (in Mathews, 1914-15) 
concerning broods seen about his house. Among other things he says that he saw 
