GREEN PYGMY GOOSE 99 



DISTRIBUTION 



This Australian species has a limited range, being confined to northern Australia and neighboring 

 islands. Its westernmost occurrence was in the Gorontalo region of Celebes, where Riedel took a 

 single specimen, now in the Petrograd Museum (Blasius, 1886). It furthermore in- Celebes 

 habits the southern Moluccas where a few were taken on Buru, near Wakolo Lake, and Bum 

 small numbers were seen in July at Pasahari and Lake Tapala, Ceram (Stresemann, Ceram 

 1914). Both Hoedt (Leyden Museum) and Riedel (Dresden Museum) had previously found it on 

 Amboina. According to Forbes it also inhabits the Tenimber Group, though appar- Tenimber 

 ently it has never been taken on the Kei or Aru Islands (Salvadori, 1891). Group 



In New Guinea it seems to occur only in the south, though the Dresden Museum has a specimen 

 said to have been taken in the northwestern part. In the extreme west the species, which rarely 

 occurs in great numbers anywhere, was found to be abundant on Lake Jamur in August New 

 (de Beaufort, 1909), and on the south coast it was taken at Merauke (van Oort, 1909). Guinea 

 There are, I believe, no records for German New Guinea, but it has several times been found in 

 the British colony, on the Katau and Fly Rivers (d'Albertis and Salvadori, 1879), at Port Moresby 

 (Tristram, 1889) and in "the south" (Finsch, 1884; Salvadori, 1895, British Museum specimen). 



The present species rarely occurs far in the interior of Australia, and seems to be most plentiful 

 on the northwest coast. It is fairly numerous on the west coast as far south as the Fitzroy River 

 (North, 1898), but Ward and Fontain (1907) speak of it as rare along the coast from . .. 



Sharks Bay, south to the Swan River. It has been recorded indirectly even from the 

 extreme southwestern part of Australia, from Lake Ewlymartiys and Lake Muir (Mathews, 1914-15). 

 In northwest Australia Ramsay (1888) gives Derby as one of the fixed localities. Farther inland Kil- 

 gour (Emu, vol. 4, pp. 38, 42, 1904) noted it as common on the Ord River. 



For the northwestern section of North Territory there are numerous records. Hartert (1905) has 

 recorded it from the Mary, Margaret, and Alligator Rivers, and states that the species, while not 

 very common, is found all through that region. Ramsay (1888) gives Port Darwin and Port Essington 

 as specific localities, while North (1913) states that the birds breed on the Daly River. On Melville 

 Island the species seems to be common from December to March, and probably breeds (Mathews, 

 1914-15). According to Eylmann (1911) the species is almost unknown in the interior of North Ter- 

 ritory. 



The Pygmy Goose is much rarer in northeastern Australia. Ramsay (1888) gives the Gulf of Car- 

 pentaria as its habitat, but states that it is very rare in eastern Queensland, though occurring on Cape 

 York and even at Rockingham Bay. It breeds at Normanton, southeastern part of the Gulf of Car- 

 pentaria (Mathews, 1914-15), and at Byromine, Cape York (Macgilhvray, 1914). On the east side of 

 the York Peninsula, it is said to be common on the Kennedy and Hann Rivers (Robinson and Laver- 

 ock, 1900) though only sporadic at Cooktown (ibid.). On the other hand Broadbent (1910) speaks of 

 it as common in September on the Bellenden Plains and Herbert River. Its southernmost occurrence 

 seems to be the Richmond district, Queensland, where, according to Berney (1907) it is very rare. 



GENERAL HABITS 



There is a dearth of literature describing the haunts and habits of this species. In 

 general it is found on swamps or lagoons where the rushes offer cover, and more 

 rarely on rivers. It would appear to be an inhabitant of the coastal regions, retiring 

 somewhat inland to breed in the wet season. With one exception observers are agreed 

 that the Pygmy Goose is extremely shy. Gregory (Gould, 1865) during an early 

 expedition to the Sherlock River is the only one who found it "remarkable for its 

 tameness." 



