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Sooi^HiBB 



19 



the Waikanae Eiver. The Duck was on the nest, which was composed of soft down, torn from 

 her own body, and there were four eggs, one having been previously broken by the finder. On 

 being captured, the Duck, although apparently much frightened, uttered no sound, and made no 

 attempt to escape. We brought her to Wellington shut up in a canvas bag, and, on being taken 

 therefrom some hours later, she sipped water from a drinking-cup in the most unconcerned way. 

 On being placed in a cage with her nest and eggs, she immediately claimed possession, and con- 

 tinued to sit, with few interruptions, for several days. But the eggs, which had been long 

 incubated when taken, must have got chilled in transmission, for the duck, having apparently 

 discovered that they were lifeless, first turned one out, and then abandoned the nest. I do not 

 know of any species of wild Duck that, under similar circumstances, would have resumed, even for 

 a time, the labour of incubation. Had the bird been left undisturbed she would have hatched out 

 her young in about a week or ten days. Some clutches, however, are earlier, for in the stream near 

 which this nest was discovered, a pair of Mountain Duck had been disporting with five young 

 ones for more than a week before our arrival. 



Young. — A young bird in my collection, which still has the first down adhering to the vertex 

 throat, and sides of the head, has the colours much duller than in the adult ; the spotted rufous 

 markings on the breast are less diffuse and are continued obscurely down the abdomen to the 

 under tail-coverts, which are entirely dull rufous. The shoulders are speckled with dusky black, 

 and there is a slight metallic gloss on the upper surface, the bird being probably a male. 



Fledgling. — The colours are those of the adult, but paler. The long, soft, white down is still 

 present on the throat and lower side of the cheeks, whilst broken or irregular lines of the same 

 proceed from the frontal base and from the sides of the upper mandible, and become scattered 

 beyond the eyes. The dull olive-green down, with long disunited filaments, still adheres to the 

 crown and other portions of the upper surface, being most pronounced immediately above the tail. 

 The bill is slaty-brown (in the dried specimen), the terminal points of both mandibles and the ser- 

 rated edges being dull yellow. 



Speaking generally, the young of the first year has much less chestnut on the breast than 

 the adult bird, all the true pectoral and surrounding feathers having only a minute spot of rufous 

 with a point of black beyond, giving a speckled appearance to that part of the body ; the head 

 is washed with brown, and so is the mantle ; the irides are dark-brown instead of being golden- 

 yellow ; and the bill is bluish-grey instead of white. 



In the adult state the male bird has a fine metallic-green gloss on the head, neck, and upper 

 surface generally, being brightest on the crown and on the mantle. The female has less gloss, 

 having a wash of bronzy-brown on these parts, this colour being most pronounced on the crown of 

 the head and mantle. A young male (of the first year) has the same brown tinge on the upper 

 surface, but less than in the adult female. In the mature bird the bill, with the exception of the 

 dark terminal membrane, is in life of a beautiful pinky- white colour ; in the young bird it is of a 

 bluish-white, with a narrow streak of brown down the centre. Both sexes have the soft feathers 

 which compose the inner lining of the wings more or less tipped with rufous ; the male has 

 the under tail-coverts broadly tipped with rusty-red, whilst in the female bird these markings are 

 absent ; in the young of both sexes the under tail-coverts are entirely of that colour. The male 

 has the chestnut-red pectoral markings more distinct than in the female. In the young bird they 

 are considerably diminished, each feather having only a minute touch of rufous, with a spot of 

 black beyond, imparting to the breast a speckled effect. The irides of the young bird, which are 

 originally dark, change rapidly to a dull olivaceous-yellow, which becomes golden at maturity. 

 The old birds on being caught utter a peculiar rasping cry ; the young has a similar note, but 

 weaker, and when alarmed emits a distinct squeal. The ordinary note of the species is a sibilant 

 whistle, whence it derives its native name, " Whio." 



