100 NETTAPUS PULCHELLUS 



Concerning the daily movements of this species there is no information re- 

 corded. As to its flight I can only quote Keartland (North, 1898) who says, "When 

 disturbed they rose quickly and flew near the surface of the water, making a peculiar 

 whistling noise all the time they were on the wing." Several ornithologists have 

 noted its agility in diving. Gilbert (Gould, 1865) says that "at the slightest move- 

 ment of anything near it, it dives and remains under water a long time"; while 

 Eylmann (1911) noted that it attempted to escape by diving rather than by flight. 

 Curiously enough there seems to be only one mention of this little goose perching in 

 trees. Rogers (Mathews, 1914-15) saw several pairs perched on trees thirty yards 

 from the water, and he states that they perch freely. As they appear ordinarily on 

 the ground, and not so commonly in trees, as do their relatives in India, it is probable 

 that they do not perch as freely as the Indian species. 



Even the earlier travelers did not find this species plentiful, excepting possibly in 

 northwestern Australia; it seems never to occur in large flocks, but in pairs or in 

 small companies of from eight to ten or a dozen (Gregory in Gould, 1865; Keartland 

 in North, 1913). Stresemann (1914), writing of Buru Island, says individuals were 

 observed among large flocks of other ducks (probably Tree Ducks). According to 

 Eylmann (1911), however, it keeps apart from all other water-fowl in the interior of 

 South Australia. 



The voice, says Rogers (Mathews, 1914-15), is a "fairly loud whistle," while 

 Keartland (North, 1913) speaks of it as a "peculiar cry" uttered when disturbed. 

 From this meager and insufficient information it is very difficult to form a satis- 

 factory idea of the note. 



Food. Data as to the food of the Pygmy Goose are just as deficient as the ob- 

 servations on other phases of its life-history. Keartland (North, 1913) states that 

 it feeds "on grass, like the ordinary domestic goose," a very remarkable note, es- 

 pecially since Pygmy Geese are usually regarded as being not active on land. Ma- 

 thews (1910) records that the stomachs of three specimens taken in northeast 

 Australia contained seeds and grit. 



Courtship and Nesting. Nothing has been written about the courtship of this 

 species. As to the nesting, there is an interesting note by Gulliver (Mathews, 1914- 

 15), who, after long observation, felt convinced that in the Gulf of Carpentaria 

 region the birds breed inland on the fresh-water lakes, returning to the coast as soon 

 as the young are on the wing. They nest during the wet season, from about the middle 

 of January to the middle of March. Rogers (Mathews, 1914-15), on Melville Island, 

 on January 10, took specimens with well-developed eggs, while Gulliver (Mathews, 

 1914-15) says they disappear from the coast about the middle of February. Fresh 

 eggs were taken near the Daly River (North Territory) on the 7th and 10th of Feb- 



