GEESE AND DUCKS 247 



It ranges through the whole of South Africa, being common 

 on the vleis of the Orange Free State at certain seasons, 

 where it breeds amongst the rushes, laying pure white eggs, 

 five to eight in a clutch. This bird has been recorded as 

 breeding on a cliff, and even amongst the grass and rocks 

 of a kopje on the veld. In the photograph (Fig. 128) the geese 

 have commandeered the disused nest of a Hammerhead; 

 the nest can be seen on a ledge of the cliff near the top of the 

 picture (left centre), the entrance-hole projecting down- 

 wards. The bird in the foreground has the wing outspread, 

 showing the conspicuous white patch. 



We have kept this Goose repeatedly in captivity, but 

 they are pugnacious in the poultry-yard, pursuing and 

 persecuting ducks and fowls alike. Their harsh barking 

 quack (so aptly described by Andersson) is irritating in 

 the extreme, except when heard in the wilds. 



The Yellow-billed Duck {Anas undulata), known to the 

 Boer farmers as the "Geelbek," is perhaps the commonest 

 and most widely spread of the South African Ducks. General 

 colour ashy-brown, mottled with white ; a speculum of 

 metallic blue or green on the wing margined by black. BiU 

 yellow with a black central streak on the culmen. Length, 

 nearly 2 feet. 



This bird was fairly plentiful on the Modderfontein dams 

 during August, 1907. It is perhaps the commonest Duck in 

 most parts of South Africa. 



The Black Duck {Anas sparsa) is almost black in colour, 

 speckled with grey on the head and neck ; the metallic 

 speculum is surrounded by a black band, which is bordered 

 in front and behind by a white stripe. Length, 2 feet. 



Mr. Taylor found this bird breeding under a tuft of rushes 

 on a little island at Irene (dist. Pretoria) in July, 1905 ; the 

 nest contained eleven eggs. 



