■kkhBdhi 



Oeder ANSEEIFOEMES] . 



[Family ANATID^. 



FULIGULA NOVJE-ZEALANDI^E. 



(NEW ZEALAND SCAUP.) 



Fuligula novae-zealandiae (Gmelin), Buller, Birds of New Zealand, yoI. ii., p. 273. 



On the Papaitonga Lake — where, owing to the rigid protection,* this Duck is very numerous — 

 a Scaup (" Wigeon " of the Colonists) brought out a brood of five young ones about the middle 

 of December. The old bird was to be seen daily swimming about near the boatshed followed 

 by her little family, huddled together in a clump as it were, and at the slightest appear- 

 ance of danger the ducklings would instantly dive and reappear on the surface further out 

 on the lake. Early one morning, on going down for a plunge in the water, I had an illus- 

 tration of the force of maternal instinct in this bird. On opening the door of the boathouse 

 leading to the springboard I surprised the duck and her brood disporting themselves in the 

 water only ten or twelve yards out. On my appearance the young birds instantly dived, whilst 

 the old bird, evidently to divert attention from its brood, came swimming up to within a few 

 feet of me with its mouth open and uttering a low cry. In the meantime the young had got to a 

 safe distance under water, and then came to the surface again, when the parent, seeing that the 

 apprehended danger was past, quietly joined them. On mentioning this circumstance to my 

 son, he told me that he had witnessed a somewhat similar device on the part of the same 

 bird only a short time before. On this occasion two sporting dogs took to the water and 

 swam out in the direction of the young brood. The old duck at once rose in the air, new up 

 to the dogs, and kept circling round them, so as to distract their attention, till the young birds 

 were well out on the lake. 



HYMENO LIMITS M ALACGKH YNCHUS. 



(MOUNTAIN DUCK.) 



Hymenolaemus malacorhynchus (G-melin), Buller, Birds of New Zealand, vol. ii., p. 276. 



This is one of those recluse species that must ere long disappear entirely. Mountain- and bush- 

 streams, like that shown in the subjoined photograph, form the natural haunt of this singular 

 Duck. From localities mentioned in my first edition as its favourite resorts — such as the Mana- 

 watu Gorge — it has long since disappeared ; and as settlement extends inland, it must of necessity 

 retire still further back till, in the end, it will vanish altogether. 



In the summer of 1863, in company with the late Dr. Featherston, I made a trip through the 

 Manawatu Gorge in a canoe, paddled by Maoris, and propelled by poles in the more rapid parts. 

 Here I made my first acquaintance with this Duck and obtained a beautiful series of specimens, 

 now in my type-collection in the Colonial Museum. At that date the walls of the gorge, some 

 six or eight miles long, were covered with lovely vegetation, untouched by the hand of man, to 



■* A recent New Zealand newspaper has the following paragraph : " It is said that Lake Alexandrina, in the 

 Mackenzie country, which is reserved as a sanctuary for native game, is teeming with wild fowl, the birds seemiDg 

 to know that they are out of harm's way when on the waters of this lake. At Milford lagoon, near Temuka, the 

 same thing is seen. When the shooting season opened the lagoon presented a sight worth witnessing, being literally 

 black with ducks." 



Yol. ii.— 3 



