WHITE-WINGED WOOD DUCK 83 



branches (nests of other species?), and at other times actually nested on the ground. 

 No description of the eggs is available, but they are probably white or nearly so. 



Status of Species. I have no means of estimating the present status of this 

 species, beyond what has been said under Distribution. 



Food Value. Nothing is recorded, but it is said to be eaten regularly by some 

 planters in Assam. More than three or four birds can rarely be obtained in a day's 

 hunt, and this only after a walk of twenty miles or more. Baker mentions that his 

 live birds were all obtained by setting many nooses about the edges of waters fre- 

 quented by them where they were easy to catch owing to their habit of resorting to 

 the same stretch of ground when entering or leaving the water. 



Behavior in Captivity. Baker kept many of these birds in confinement. They 

 tamed very readily and did not attempt to fly off except at the approach of the 

 breeding season. In fact, after having been thus tamed, they never made use of 

 their wings, but walked long distances to and from the water, as much as half a mile 

 in one case. Their gait, and their style of swimming according to Finn (1915) are 

 different from those of the Comb Ducks and Sheldrakes, and resemble rather those of 

 the true ducks. The swelling of the drake's bill in the spring is similar to what takes 

 place in the Common Sheldrake. Baker's birds died very quickly when sent to the 

 Calcutta Zoological Gardens and in his aviaries always kept out of the sun from 10 

 a.m. to 2 p.m. even in the cool weather. He found them very well behaved and never 

 quarrelsome. Probably if Baker's birds had nested in confinement, they would have 

 become more pugnacious. Some Lesser Whistling Teal (Dendrocygna javanica) 

 shared the same yard and never came to any harm. When not feeding, the White- 

 winged Wood Ducks almost invariably sat on perches, but they kept their position 

 chiefly by balance of the body, never by grasping of the feet. These caged birds 

 very seldom called, except occasionally in April and May. One female which died 

 in June contained eggs larger than those of a hen. The birds paired regularly in 

 May, the base of the drake's bill becoming swollen and red, but the ducks never laid 

 any eggs. 



Finn (1915) remarks that a single female in the London Zoological Gardens often 

 made a spiteful grab at some smaller water-fowl. In 1851 the London Gardens 

 received two specimens from Mr. Blyth, but there was none living in the Gardens 

 in 1883 (Sclater, 1883). In 1905, five specimens arrived in England and were sold 

 for twenty pounds the couple (Hubbard, 1907). So far as I know, no living speci- 

 mens have ever been received in America. 



Mr. Blaauw tells me that he saw living specimens of this duck some years ago on 

 the Duke of Bedford's estate in England, and that they did not live many years. 

 He was much struck with the Muscovy-like appearance of the species. 



