ANSEEES NETTOPUS 123 



the under tail-coverts dark brown ; upper surface, including the tail- 

 coverts and most of the wing-coverts dark metallic-green, the 

 primaries and tail-quills black, the outer primary coverts and some 

 of the outer secondaries white, forming a longitudinal white band in 

 the closed wing. 



Iris dark brown to bluish ; bill bright yellow with a very dark 

 brown nail ; legs and feet bluish-black, shading on the hinder part of 

 the legs to yellowish. 



Length about 12-5 ; wing 6-25 ; tail 3-0 ; tarsus 1-0 ; culmen 1-0. 



The female is duller in colour throughout, the forehead and sides 

 of the face are spotted and mottled with brown ; there is no pale 

 green patch or black crescentic boundary line on the sides of the 

 neck, the green and cinnamon freckling of the lower hind neck and 

 the upper tail-coverts is more noticeable. 



Iris dark brown, almost black ; bill dusky yellowish, shading to 

 almost black at the tip ; lower mandible livid ; legs bluish black ; 

 dimensions about the same as in the male. 



Distribution. — Africa, south of the Gambia on the west, and of 

 Lamu on the east, as well as Madagascar, is the area of the range 

 of the African Dwarf Goose. 



In South Africa it is a casual visitor to the Colony, and only met 

 with along the coast and larger rivers, but is more frequently to be 

 seen in Natal and the Transvaal up to the Zambesi. It is not 

 recorded from German South-west Africa, though fairly plentiful 

 about Lake Ngami. 



The following are recorded localities : Gape Colony— Mossel 

 Bay (S. A. Mus.), Port Elizabeth, rare (Brown), Grahamstown 

 (Layard), Alexandria and King "Williams Town (S. A. Mus.) ; 

 Natal — Umgeni, near Howick, Umsindusi near Maritzburg, Clair- 

 mont, near Durban (Woodward), Zululand (Brit. Mus.) ; Transvaal 

 — near Potchefstroom, April, June (Ayres) ; Bechuanaland— Lake 

 Ngami fAndersson), Nocana, July (Fleck), Botletli Eiver (Bryden) ; 

 Ehodesia — Sibanini in Eastern Matabeleland (Penther), Upper 

 Zambesi (Holub and Bradshaw), Mashonaland, not very common 

 (Marshall) ; Portuguese Bast Africa— Inhambane, September 

 (Francis). 



Habits. — The Dwarf Goose is usually found in small flocks 

 which haunt some quiet lagoon near a river or lake ; it is a good 

 diver and seldom leaves the neighbourhood of water. It is not very 

 shy, and at certain seasons is fat and pretty good eating. No 

 observer has yet described its breeding habits in South Africa. 



