54 PLECTROPTERUS GAMBENSIS 



sounds like caw-whit, sometimes clear, sometimes rather harsh. He never heard 

 any trumpet -like or loud, clanging notes. Mr. Crandall, of the New York Zoological 

 Park, tells me that he has never heard the female call, and describes the male's note 

 as a "whistling quack," often repeated. 



Food. These birds appear to be omnivorous. Kirk (1864) speaks of their eating 

 the "nyka," the tuberous enlargement of the Nymphaea bud. Von Heuglin (1873) 

 describes their diet as consisting of grain and grass sprouts, worms, crustaceans, 

 fishes, and snails. Many other observers have noted their habit of feeding in grain- 

 fields. Holub and von Pelzeln (1882) found them living on fish, insects, worms, 

 mollusks, seeds and fresh grass. 



Courtship and Nesting. There is no information about display attitudes in 

 this species. Heinroth noted no peculiar postures when a male Spur-wing mated with 

 a female Muscovy in the Berlin Zoological Garden. 



In spite of the fact that this bird is common over the greater part of Africa, very 

 few nests appear to have been found by travelers. In the Sudan it seems quite 

 certain that they breed in the spring during the rainy season, but in other localities 

 it is probable that the breeding season is much more irregular, for in western Liberia 

 Btittikofer (1885) found young in the middle of November and in Zululand Grant 

 (W. L. Sclater, 1912) took eggs in April. The commonest situation for the nest seems 

 to be among long grass, often some distance from the water, but on the Zambesi, 

 Kirk (1864) and Livingstone (1857) say that they nest on ant-hills. Bowker (Stark 

 and Sclater, 1906) took a clutch of eight eggs from an old heron's (Scopus umbretta) 

 nest on an overhanging rock on the banks of the Caledon River, Natal. Hartert 

 (1886) thought that they nested in trees, but admitted never having found a nest. 

 Observers are not in agreement regarding the number of eggs in a clutch, the figures 

 given varying from three or six, up to ten or twelve. There appear to be no observa- 

 tions as to the nest itself, which is probably no more than a hollow lined with grass. 

 The eggs are smooth, shining, and ivory white, with numerous fine pores, and meas- 

 ure 71 x 53 mm. 



Status of Species. A general idea of the wide distribution and abundance of 

 this species has been given under the heading "Distribution." Shortridge (1904) 

 notes that it is now rare where it used to be plentiful in eastern Cape Colony. 

 Butler (1905) found it not as common as the Egyptian Goose on the White Nile. 

 He noted, however, "enormous numbers" during April in eastern Senaar. There 

 are only one or two observations as to their natural enemies, namely, that of Holub 

 and von Pelzeln (1882) who say they are fed upon by crocodiles and otters in South 

 Africa. Kothe (1911) shot one in Tanganyika Province (German East Africa) 

 which had evidentlv lost a leg from the attack of a crocodile. 



