344 THE GAME BIEDS AND WILD EOWL 



Genus CASARCA, or Ruddy Sheldrakes. 



Type, CASAECA EUTILA. 



Casarca, of Bonaparte (1838).- — Count Salvador!, whose general arrange- 

 ment of the Anserifoemes we intend to follow in the present work, characterises 

 the birds in the present genus by their having more or less prominent lamellae to 

 the edges of the bill, which is not broader towards the tip than at the base. 

 The culmen is almost straight and the lamellae are equally developed along the 

 inner edge of the upper mandible ; the lamellae on the lower mandible projecting 

 outwardly. In this genus the sexes are, to a more or less extent, dissimilar in 

 colour. 



This genus is composed of four species, distributed over the Southern Palae- 

 arctic, Ethiopian, Oriental, and Australian regions. One species is an abnormal 

 migrant to the British Islands. 



The Buddy Sheldrakes are, strictly speaking, more fresh-water than maritime 

 in their haunts, and to a large extent frequenters of the land. They are gregarious 

 during the non-breeding season, but appear to nest in pairs only. Some of the 

 species, at least, often nest far from water. They breed in holes of cliffs or trees, 

 as well as in the ground, choosing covered sites for their nests. Their eggs are 

 numerous and creamy-white. Their food consists partly of vegetable and partly 

 of animal substances. Their notes are harsh. Their flight is stately and 

 deliberate. 



